Prompt Collection
by Panja Mysy
Summary: A collection of prompt inspired one-shot stories, some long, some short, some fun, some sad...a bit of everything! Multiple characters, multiple ships! Something for everyone! Ratings range from K to M. New prompts or suggestions are welcome.
1. Lesbians on a Camping Trip

**So this is going to be a series of one-shots, prompts from Tumblr and other places. Mostly Auruo and Petra fics but I'll write pretty much anyone else as well if you'd like. Drop me a message or review.**

 **Please note, I do not write raunchy yaoi. Sorry, but it's not my cup of tea.**

 **AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT**

 ** _Scenario #1 given to me by my friend, Lisa._**

 ** _"Two lesbians on a camping trip"_**

 ** _Characters: Ymir and Krista. Appearances by Sasha, Connie, Armin, Mikasa, Eren, Jean, Reiner, Bertholdt and Annie._**

 ** _Rating: PG-13ish_**

 ** _This is totally a new writing concept to me, but here goes nothing!_**

What is it about two girls sharing a tent that was drawing such a huge crowd of stupid teenage boys? Ymir swore she'd never seen the boys of the 104th Cadet Squadron act like such a pack of complete assholes before now. She'd woken up that morning and emerged from her and Krista's tent to find several members of the male species eyeing her with awe. Hmm...they must have heard some things last night that they weren't mentally prepared for. Well, hopefully they learned a thing or two.

Even now, sitting here by the campfire with her arm draped around Krista's tiny shoulders, several pairs of eyes were watching them closely. Not only the boys, Ymir noticed with a wicked grin, but several jealous eyes were from the girls too. She flashed one very bold girl who had been staring with an unhappy and sour expression on her face for a whole five minutes and began twisting Krista's long blonde hair around her fingers, flashing the leering girl across the fire a grin that clearly said " _In your wildest dreams, bitch."_ and she huffed in triumph when the girl looked away with a scowl.

"What?" Krista asked as she pulled her marshmallow out of the fire to test if it was done. Krista hated when her marshmallows would burn, they had to be light brown and melted, but if they started on fire she would give it away to someone else and start over until she got it perfect. It was one of the many quirks that Ymir took note of.

"I didn't say anything," Ymir replied, letting the hair she'd twisted around her hand fall loose back to her girlfriend's shoulder.

"You made that noise you make when you think something's funny," Krista said, sticking the marshmallow back into the flames. It almost immediately burst into flames and Ymir began to laugh as Krista pulled it back and glared at the flaming food at the end of the stick. That pouty lip thing made it hard not to kiss her right there and now...but hell if that was going to happen when they were surrounded by the present company.

"Well, _that_ is damn funny!"

Krista sighed and held her now charred marshmallow out towards Sasha who was already in possession of three s'mores.

"Here, Sasha, you can have it," she said in her normal sweet tone.

Sasha immediately took her up on the offer and scooped the burnt mass off the stick with her graham cracker. Connie had reached over her lap and snatched a s'more from her plate while she was accepting the marshmallow and when she looked down to find it missing, her face got red and angry and she pushed Connie backwards off his stump. Connie just laughed loudly, holding the s'more to his chest like a precious piece of treasure, which...it kind of was. If you could steal food from Sasha and come out alive it was like a grand achievement. Connie held the record so far...but everyone knew it was because Sasha liked the short, buzzcut class clown a lot, anyone else was likely to lose an arm or other various body part if Sasha caught them taking off with her food.

Krista watched the scuffle between them as she went back to trying to achieve the perfect marshmallow, admiring the ease with which the pair interacted and wished it was as easy for her and Ymir. They were kind of taboo in the midst of all these Cadets. She recalled the surprised and uncomfortable looks a few comrades had given them when they had finally openly admitted they were dating.

"What's my Krista thinkin' in that beautiful head of hers?" Ymir asked softly, obviously noticing the far off look in Krista's blue eyes.

"Just wondering if we'll ever be able to flirt openly like that without drawing an unwanted crowd?" Krista replied, turning her marshmallow slowly. She pulled it back and nodded when she felt it had reached the perfection zone.

Ymir glanced over at Connie and Sasha who were bickering over the last s'more on Sasha plate and she narrowed her eyes at the pair. Why should she and Krista be so afraid to express themselves in the open like those two? She couldn't think of reason at all. She looked down at Krista and a wicked idea came to her mind.

She reached down and jabbed her index finger directly into Krista's perfect marshmallow, resulting in her finger getting covered in sticky white goop. Krista turned her head and looked at her in shock, her jaw dropping open in horror at her ruined marshmallow and was about to make an unhappy comment when Ymir jabbed her bottom lip with her goopy finger, leaving a glob of the sticky treat in its wake.

Ymir knew she only had a tiny window of opportunity before Krista swiped the goo off with her tongue and she took that window without a second thought. She pulled Krista forward slightly and covered the space between them before the blonde could even speak, clashing their lips together. Ymir felt Krista tense up for a moment before she gave in and added her lips to their public display of affection, the taste of the marshmallow goo mixed with the taste that was purely Krista made Ymir's tummy flip in excitement...melted marshmallows could be an excellent addition to their bedroom adventures, she had to keep this in mind!

When they finally broke apart, lips swollen and eyes bright with excitement, the silence around them hit like a tidal wave and they looked around at their comrades.

Connie and Sasha were frozen in a comical statue-like stance with Sasha leaning away from Connie, her last s'more on the plate she held aloft and away, Connie on his tip toes and leaning as far as he could in an attempt to claim the s'more from Sasha's longer arm length. Eren, Armin and Mikasa sat on a log directly across the fire and they all stared with jaws dropped. Jean and Reiner looked like two foxes in a henhouse, their goofy, lecherous grins spread across their faces. Bertholdt was blushing and looking directly into the fire with wide eyes. Annie only looked vaguely interested, but then again she never looked interested in anything so it was nothing new.

"What's the matter?" Ymir asked with a sneer, "Never seen two girls make out?"

"No," Armin squeaked, his cheeks matched the red of the flames in front of him.

"Well, get used to it," Krista piped up, sounding a little breathless.

"That's my Krista," Ymir laughed happily, pulling the blonde closer to her and mussing her hair with one hand, "I swear when this training is all over, you're going to have to marry me."

 **AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT**

 **Well there we go! One down, many more to go!**


	2. Cheesecake

**_Prompt: Cheesecake_**

 ** _Characters: Sasha and Connie_**

 _ **Rating: PG**_

 _ **AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT**_

"Just explain something to me? How can CHEESE be a CAKE?!"

Sasha rolled her eyes at her best friend's lack of culinary knowledge, not that she could blame him really considering he hailed from a small village where food was a luxury. But so had she...well...but food had always been an important part of her life, her favorite thing in the world was food! Having so little of it growing up and having to hunt for what little you could get had made her appreciate the beauty of the stuff.

"I know it doesn't _sound_ good but I promise you...it's going to be the best thing you ever tasted!" Sasha assured him as she pulled bowls and other utensils down from the cupboards.

"I'll believe that when I taste it," Connie mumbled, clearly not persuaded, "No matter what, cheese does not belong in cake."

Sasha worked happily, mixing and squishing and measuring until the finished product sat before her on the counter. Connie eyed the swirled, pie-esque thing and scrunched his face questioningly.

"It's not ready!" Sasha slapped his hand away as he reached out to take a fingerful.

They both waited impatiently for the hour required in the fridge for the cheesecake to set firmly and when it was finally ready, Sasha cut them both a piece and handed Connie his plate. Connie eyed the slice, looking unsure, but obediently cut a piece and put it in his mouth.

Almost immediately, his eyes dropped closed and his jaw dropped open, revealing the half chewed food inside. His momentary foodgasm passed and he finished chewing and swallowed, then he opened his eyes and looked at Sasha incredulously.

"I was wrong. Cheese and cake _do_ go together."


	3. Withered

**_Prompt: Withered_**

 ** _Characters: Mikasa_**

 ** _Rating: PG_**

Mikasa herded the mass of people towards the evacuation area, calmly telling them not to crowd and not to shove but to proceed in an orderly fashion. This was only a drill, a practice evacuation like the one they'd done in Trost during their second year in the Cadets, but some people seemed genuinely afraid and Mikasa had to keep an eye out for the children and elderly as the crowd made its way down the streets.

"Excuse me, young lady?" a shaky voice made Mikasa turn around and search for its speaker. She actually had to look down because the person addressing her was so small of stature. It was a very small old woman who looked barely strong enough to be out and about on her own, her gray hair frazzled and her tired eyes searching the crowd as she wrung her knotted old hands together in worry. "I know you're busy but I can't find my husband, we were separated in the crowd. He's blind, I have to find him or he'll get lost."

"Of course, I'll help you find him," Mikasa immediately disregarded the fact that she was being graded on her evacuation assistance as this small, fragile lady looked up at her. "What does he look like?"

The old lady described her husband in great detail and it wasn't long before Mikasa spotted him. He was standing perfectly still by a rain barrel beside a house on the other side of the street, not far from their position.

"I see him," she told the elderly woman, "Across the street there. Come with me."

She offered her hand and the old lady placed her own hand in it; Mikasa was struck by how breakable and tiny the hand felt in hers. They crossed the street together, winding through the crowd carefully so as not to get trampled in the fake evacuation, and came to a stop in front of the old man.

"Nikolas," the old lady's voice was soothing and calm, "It's ok, I'm here. I would never leave you behind."

"I know you wouldn't, Gretchen," the man replied, a smile spread across his face and he suddenly looked much younger, "I was waiting for you, I knew you would come."

"Thank you, young lady, for helping me," Gretchen gave Mikasa's hand a squeeze and she was surprised at how tight the pressure was, "Soldiers like you are a blessing to us all."

Mikasa watched the couple make their way towards the exit with her husband, their fingers intertwined and her arm around his as she guided him...the love they had for eachother was so obvious and Mikasa found herself imagining what the two of them must have faced together through their lives, how they had remained so in love for all that time. They were both so slight, so fragile so...withered...

But Mikasa envied them. She would give anything to grow old and withered with Eren at her side, walking hand in hand in the twilight of their years. But Mikasa held out no hope for such a thing...it was a rare thing indeed for a member of the Scouts to reach an elder age.

Mikasa would die young, in her prime, with all her strength still there in her body and mind...Scouts never got the chance to wither away in silence and love.


	4. Clarity

**_Prompt: Clarity_**

 ** _Characters: Jean_**

 ** _Rating: PG-13_**

Jean Kirschstein is panicking, his heart is thumping wildly in his chest and he swears it's going to bust through his ribcage any second now. Sweat drops are streaming down his face and his bottom lip is bleeding slightly from where his teeth clamped down on it in an attempt to curb the fear that is threatening to consume him.

But his mind is clear.

He isn't thinking about the fact that he might die and his own skin is suddenly the last thing that matters...which, he muses, is odd considering he's only ever been concerned about himself. The wind is whistling past his ears as he goes into a swing, his ODM gear holding him up by only two small wires, but he trusts his gear to carry him onwards towards the building in the distance because there is no point in being worried about equipment malfunction when you're making a mad dash for your life on a limited gas supply in your tanks. Take advantage of the momentum, unhook, use a little gas and re-hook, momentum, unhook, gas, re-hook...it's a dance he knows well, one he's proficient at. He didn't graduate with the best scores in ODM use for nothing!

 _Why am I so calm?_

He shouldn't be, he knows that; death is all around him.

But Marco is by his side, smiling at him and moving forward with him towards their goal...and that is all he can think of: reaching that goal alive.

Because if Jean doubts himself now, if he hesitates...his comrades will falter and fail; so he keeps going and keeps his mind focused on reaching HQ, because he took this task on himself and these people's lives are his responsibility. He knows they don't have the mental strength to continue without someone taking the lead, Sasha had tried to rouse them and no one had budged and Mikasa's words had left them stunned and shamed; for some reason he would never be able to fathom, they had followed him without question.

This sudden clarity...he wondered if everyone was feeling this way? Or was he different than them somehow? The look in Marco's eyes told him it was the latter.

"You really came through for us back there, we owe you big time! Don't shrug it off, I'm serious! We're alive because of you! Like I said, you make a great leader."

Marco's words made Jean blink in confusion for a moment. _A LEADER? Jean Kirschstein was no leader, he was just here to get into the Military Police so he could live an easy life inside the inner Wall. He didn't have any dreams of glory and honor..._

"Easy with that crap," he snapped at his comrade, "We're not out of this yet!"

But, despite his distaste of Marco's statement, he continued forward. Because, even if he didn't WANT to be a leader, he was one for now and he was going to do whatever he could to get his comrades into that building.

Without hesitation, he unhooked his grapples one last time, letting his momentum carry him forward towards the windows of HQ. He tucked his head under his arms and angled his body as he flew towards the glass in an all or nothing dive towards the safety of the stone building.

The impact of the glass was loud in his ears and he gracelessly rolled across the floor when he landed, groaning as his shoulders connected painfully with the wooden floors, but he didn't even stop to consider any pain he might have been in, he only had one thought on his mind: _Did they make it?_

The sound of shattering glass and heavy landings filled the room and, for a brief moment, despite all that had happened to them that day, Jean felt a sense of peace sweep over him and he sighed with relief.

He'd remained calm, clear and collected...and the majority of his comrades were alive and by his side due to his actions.


	5. That Haunting Feeling

_**Prompt: That haunting feeling you get when walking up the stairs out of a dark basement.**_

 _ **Characters: Eren**_

 _ **Rating: PG**_

The cellar of the Special Operations Squad HQ was dark, cold and damp...Eren hated it. But, now more than before, it was a precaution he understood the need for. If he were to transform in his sleep, the cellar would keep him contained until he was able to come to his senses...because his would-be executioners were no longer there to keep him in line.

Eren looked around his gloomy room and sighed as he saw it all replay in his mind. Gunther had gone so quickly that Eren hadn't even had time to be sad, the dark-haired soldier had died instantly, his neck slashed almost to the point of his head being severed. Eren could still hear the sickening slicing sound as his Squad mate was attacked right in front of them and he could still clearly see his limp, lifeless body dangling from his ODM wires like some sort of sick and twisted piñata.

As painful as Gunther's death was...it paled slightly compared to the other three because he had seen the last three all happen in slow motion.

A lump rose in Eren's throat as the scene played out for probably the hundredth time since that day...only a few days ago, actually.

They had been winning, the three remaining elite soldiers had formed an attack plan without so much as saying one word to eachother, they just KNEW what to do like they could read eachothers' minds. Eren had thought it was in the bag when the Female Titan's eyes were slashed out and her shoulder muscles cut to keep her from protecting her weak spot with her hands...but it was only a naive hope, he realized now. They had all underestimated their enemy.

Eld went next, his body snapped clean in half in the jaws of the Female Titan, of Annie...it happened in the blink of an eye and Eren had felt every speck of hope disappear at that moment. He'd made the wrong choice and they were all going to die because he failed to act. He had turned around as fast as he could, but Auruo was quicker and Eren couldn't keep up.

Petra had been just as shocked, probably more so, and she screamed Eld's name and stumbled against the ground for a moment...Eren remembered the look on her face when she realized the Female Titan could see her again, it was a look of fear and pain and regret. She was too low to the ground, she was fumbling with her ODM gear...

"PETRA! PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER!" Auruo's terrified, out of character shriek still haunted Eren's nightmares. He had never heard such raw emotion come from his usually stoic and pompous Squad mate.

But Petra was too shocked, too frightened, too late...

"PETRA!"

Auruo's final, desperate cry for the copper-haired girl's life filled the air a mere moment before the Titan's foot came down on Petra's back, shoving her into a tree with such force that Eren saw blood splatter in all directions and when the Titan moved her foot, Petra's broken body slid down the tree, her eyes open and blank, her chin tilted back...still beautiful even in death.

And Eren had known there was no stopping Auruo...looking back it was so obvious. The two of them...all that bickering and snapping and nagging...it was so obvious. They had loved each other fiercely.

A moment passed where Eren and his last comrade swung together through the trees, both of them blank and stunned by the horrifying events. But then Auruo growled like some sort of cornered wild animal and he accelerated before Eren could even try to persuade him otherwise.

Auruo's form was perfect, the swing of his blades were powerful and spot on...it should have been his 40th solo kill.

But how could he have known about Annie's ability to harden? As soon as the blades glanced off the crystal-like skin of the Titan's neck, Eren knew it was over but he couldn't bring himself to look away. A swing of the Titan's hand, a horrible cracking sound and Auruo was done for...thrown like a rag doll against the nearby trees, his lifeless body landing heavy and still on the ground not far from Petra's.

Eren can't remember anything after that until he woke up in the wagons on the trip back to the Wall...he wishes he could just forget it all.

The sound of footsteps on the stone floor of the cellar broke him from his memories and he looked up to see the Captain approaching him, his face was grim and his eyes held an expression in them that differed from his usual look of blank, unconcerned calm...Eren knew it was pain.

"Eren," Levi's voice showed no sign of the pain however, he limped along on his injured leg but his back remained straight and his shoulders remained pulled back like the soldier he was. "Pack your things. You'll not be staying in this shit hole of a cellar anymore. No member of my Squad is going to be treated like shit."

Eren stared at the Captain for a moment and then nodded in silent understanding. He was the last one, he was all Levi had left in this huge castle...the halls were too quiet now without Eld and Gunther's laughter or Petra and Auruo's constant verbal battles and Levi's heartbroken loneliness was obvious now as they both silently stared at cracks in the floor.

How long had the four of them been under Levi's command? Eren wasn't sure, he hadn't been told...but the level of trust they all had for eachother made him think it was a substantial amount of time. To have it all ripped away so suddenly, the Captain must be broken inside.

"Thank you, sir," Eren acknowledged, and he stood immediately to gather his few possessions and bed sheets. Levi waited patiently and unlocked the cell as soon as Eren had everything packed up, together they made their way down the dark walkway to the stairs that led up to the main part of the castle.

As they ascended the stairs, Eren halted in his tracks.

There's a sensation you get sometimes...it usually happens in a dark place when your mind is running wild at haunting possibilities, like coming up the stairs from a dark cellar or basement. A feeling of being watched. It's a tingle on the back of your skull that travels down through your spine, a shiver with no explainable reason for happening. He felt that now, stronger than he had ever felt before.

But there was no fear connected to it, he knew the feeling well. It was a colder version of when Petra, Gunther or Eld would rest their hand on his shoulder in encouragement. Suddenly, he knew his Squad mates were not completely gone, there was one more lesson they needed to teach him.

" _Take care of the Captain, kid."_ Gunther's deep voiced whisper filled his mind...or was it his ears? It sounded so real that he wasn't sure, but the Captain made no sign of noticing anything out of the ordinary.

 _"Trust him like you trusted us."_ Eld's voice, sincere and filled with kindness as it always was.

 _"It was an honor to have known you, greenhorn."_ Auruo's voice, void of its usual condescension and pomp, sounded younger and more carefree.

 _"Don't forget us, Eren. Finish what we started."_ Petra's voice, sweet and gentle, like a cool breeze on a summer afternoon, _"We'll be by your side, always."_

Eren couldn't explain it, but that creepy "coming out of a basement and someone is behind you" sensation was gone...replaced by a peaceful calm.

And when he turned to close the cellar door behind him, he caught a quick glimpse of four figures in the darkness at the bottom of the stairs, arms around eachothers' shoulders, smiles on every face, eyes bright and without any sign of pain...then they were gone when Eren blinked.

But Eren knew they weren't really gone. He smiled gently as he closed the door. He and Levi couldn't have chosen better angels to be watching over them.


	6. Rainy Afternoon

**_Prompt: Rainy afternoon_**

 ** _Characters: Auruo and Petra (flails around happily because Petruo is my ultimate OTP!)_**

 ** _Rating: PG-13_**

Petra sat on the padded, wooden window seat of the castle's common room and rested her chin on her palm as she stared blankly out the window. Rain was pouring down outside, as it had been for the last several days, heavy and unrelenting and cold as ice in the November air. Normally, rain didn't bother Petra in the least but she was already in a bad mood because she'd been unable to go home for this most recent furlough since someone had to stay behind and care for the horses. They all swapped turns, of course, but anytime her turn rolled around it was still terrible and felt unfair.

This time, she and Auruo had drawn the short straws so to speak. To be honest, she was glad it was his turn to stay behind as well even though she knew he hated missing out on time spent with his parents and little brothers.

Speak of the devil, she glanced out towards the stables and saw Auruo emerge from the sliding door. He paused to close it behind him and she noticed him duck his head a bit as the rain pelted down on him, something must have malfunctioned with the door because it took him a little while to close it properly and then he turned quickly and ran towards the castle. The loud slam in the next room told her that he'd entered through the kitchen door and it wasn't too long until she heard his footsteps enter the common room behind her so she lazily turned her head to make some sort of snarky remark about his inability to properly shut doors...but her joke caught in her throat and she had to fight back a laugh.

Auruo was completely and utterly soaked to the bone. His ashy-blonde hair was plastered all over his face, causing rivulets of water to drip down his cheeks and nose which were bright red from the cold wind. His ever present (and, god did it bother her that it was!) cravat hung limply from his neck over his drenched shirt and dripping ODM chest strap, a puddle was forming rapidly around his mud covered boots...he looked absolutely miserable.

"You look like a drowned rat!" Petra guffawed, an unladylike snort escaped her nose as she tried to cover her laughter with her hand. Auruo raised his head, his back stiffening with indignation, and gave her a squinty, annoyed look.

"I know I'm not the best looking man in the world, Petra, but isn't comparing me to a rat going a bit far?" he asked with a funny tone to his voice, almost like he was trying to joke back but was just too tired to bother with snark.

"What would you prefer?" Petra asked, her eyes starting to fully grasp the image of what a completely soaked Auruo really looked like...his uniform shirt clung to his chest like a second skin and she could make out nearly every line of lean muscle underneath; the regulation white pants were doing the same...and by god if those ODM straps weren't starting to look like the sexiest things she'd ever seen...

"I dunno," Auruo shrugged, "Maybe like a rain soaked stallion?"

And when the corner his lips cocked into a lopsided grin and he gave her a wink, she believed he was absolutely right. Oh boy, she had to nip this in the bud and quick before this rain drove her to do things she might regret. Petra stood up quickly and grabbed her best friend by the shoulders, turning him around and pushing him towards the door, which did nothing to help her situation as she felt his back muscles moved under her hands, muscles that were firm and strong from years of ODM training and use.

"Come on, stud," she teased as she continued pushing him down the hallway, "Let's get you in the bathtub before you catch pneumonia from that cold rain! Why aren't you wearing your raingear?"

"It wasn't raining when I went out to do chores this morning!" Auruo groused in his defense, increasing his speed so she would stop pushing him, they fell into a walk side by side, "It just poured all of a sudden and I got caught in it."

"It's been raining like this for three days, you idiot," Petra chided him, "Did you think it was magically going to wait until you got back inside to start up again?"

"Why are you such a damn nag all of the time? Doesn't it get exhausting?"

"Why do you act like the world revolves around you?"

"Why didn't you go home this furlough? At least then I could get some peace and quiet in this place!"

"Maybe you should just sleep in the stables tonight if you want to be alone so much!"

They bickered all the way to the end of the hall until they reached the bathroom and Petra practically shoved Auruo through the door out of rage at his latest quip, he yelped and stumbled into the room, casting a seething glare at her over his shoulder as he straightened back up.

"Geez, Petra..." he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck and blushing slightly, "Are you really mad?"

Petra gave him a funny look and cocked her head.

"What? No...not really, why?"

"Because that was quite a shove," Auruo informed her, his brow furrowed in confusion, "I mean, that definitely felt like it had some anger behind it."

Petra felt a blush creeping into her cheeks and she quickly turned to grab the buckets to heat water in, an effort to hide the obvious red color on her face.

"Sorry, I guess I'm just feeling a bit off from all this rain and not being able to go visit my father," she openly admitted to part of her flustered attitude, but she kept the other part shoved deep down inside. She chalked up the sudden admiration of his rain soaked body to loneliness and the need to get off since it had been a while since she'd allowed herself that luxury...she'd attend to that tonight as she listened to the pattering of rain on the windows, alone in her bed as always.

"Yeah, I know how you feel," Auruo's voice sounded bitter and she knew he must be just as lonely feeling as she was today. Sighing slightly, Petra took the buckets and pumped them full, setting them aside before she walked to the bathtub and began pumping chilly water in. Auruo's hand settled on her forearm and she twitched at the unexpected contact which resulted in him immediately yanking his hand back, she looked up at him to find him blushing brightly. "Hey, you don't have to do this, I've got it."

"I'll go heat these up," Petra replied quietly, her arm where he'd touched her tingled and she felt a little dazed. _Damn it, Petra, you really need to stop denying yourself so much. You're so keyed up and horny that even your most infuriating Squad mate is starting to have a weird effect on you._

Once the water in her buckets came to a boil over the fire in the kitchen fireplace, she hauled them back down the hallway to the bathroom and pushed the door open with her back to haul the heavy things in to warm up the frigid bath water. She honestly didn't even think about knocking...

"Ok, I brought the...oh my GOD!"

To be honest, there was really nothing too inappropriate about his level of undress...but in her current state of hormonal distress, rain-induced mischief bubbling up inside her, and her over-active imagination, it was enough to fluster her to the point of losing the capacity for speech. He stood there without his shirt on, the top half of his ODM straps hanging off his hips and barefoot...but the waist setup of his straps hung dangerously low on his hips. Or, at least, Petra considered it dangerously low, the space between his navel and the border of the leather "skirt" seemed like far too large of a gap to be considered decent.

Now that he thought about it, Auruo didn't know why he'd started to undress...he knew she would be bringing the water back. He knew for a fact he was blushing like a damn tomato now, but he tried his best to play it off like it was nothing, in an attempt to save them both from an awkward situation. But Auruo Bossard was definitely not known for being suave...

"Uh, here, I'll take those," he said quickly, stepping forward to take the buckets from her. Petra held them out wordlessly and, if he wasn't mistaken, her eyes flicked to his crotch once or twice as he stepped back to put some much needed space between them. Wait, what? Had he actually seen that? Did she really just look at _him_ like that? If he was being honest with himself...he wasn't really sure what that expression on her face meant. He chose to try and ignore it and dumped the buckets in the bathtub then tested it with his hand to see if it had warmed it enough.

"Well...um...thanks for heating that for me, Petra," he floundered his words a bit and nervously rubbed his right hand up and down his left arm, his eyes looking anywhere but her face.

"N..no problem," Petra stuttered as she backed slowly out of the room. Unlike him, her eyes were trained specifically on that strip of light colored hair that trailed from his navel all the way down to where it disappeared beneath the ODM "skirt" and into the front of his pants. Damn it! She seriously just looked at his crotch again! It was kind of hard not to when his waterlogged pants were clinging so tightly. Shaking her head vigorously, she stepped back and slammed the heavy wooden door shut with a _bang_ that seemed to flood the entire castle...then she ran to her room. She really needed to do something about this tension!

Once she reached her room, she chickened out. Somehow, using the image of Auruo in her head to get herself off felt wrong, like she was using him or something. She really couldn't explain why she felt that way, but she chalked it up to being emotionally compromised by the lack of furlough and the sense of loneliness a massive castle with only two people in it can cause. Sighing heavily, she headed back to the common room and started sweeping the floor to keep herself busy...Levi would appreciate coming back to a clean HQ.

Auruo stood there in the bathroom for a long time, looking at the door with utter confusion all over his face. There was absolutely no mistaking it that time...she'd blatantly been staring and practically drooling. How many times had he imagined her _just_ like that, with that hungry expression on her face, in his mind late at night when the loneliness began to creep into the corners of his heart. He'd felt so strongly for her for so long but was it even remotely possible that she felt something for him too?

But she loved the Captain, right? She was always at his side, those big amber eyes wide and focused on his every word, standing so close to him and sounding so sweet and gentle when she spoke to him.

Auruo shook his head and sighed. Obviously it was just one of those mistaken looks that everyone was guilty of...hell, how many pairs of boobs had he himself stared at without even thinking about it? It was the same thing. Petra didn't like him like the Captain at all. She never gave him that wide, doe-eyed look or smiled at things he said no matter how hard he tried to imitate his hero...she never spoke so softly and innocently to him, it was always some sort of nagging remark or a snide comment...and she never stood so close and so openly with him like she did with Levi. No...it hadn't meant anything.

Sighing, he removed the rest of his straps and clothes and relaxed almost immediately when he slid under the comforting warmth of the bathwater.

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Petra had graduated from sweeping to dusting by the time she heard the bathroom door creak open down the hall. She immediately felt a flare of nervousness in her chest, hoping against hope that her little admiration fest had gone unnoticed...but she knew better.

She heard the shuffling of material that announced his appearance in the common room and Petra turned around to ask if he'd like to do something helpful and assist her with the cleaning...and promptly lost her words again.

 _Damn it, Petra! Get it the HELL together! You can't lose your voice every time you see a shirtless man!_

But she realized suddenly, as she took in the sight of her squad mate standing there with nothing but a towel loosely draped around his waist, that she had never actually _seen_ Auruo shirtless before today except for a few occasions when he'd been injured, but then he'd been wrapped with bandages and covered in blood...not like this, not standing there with an adorable look of surprise on his face, hair still wet from his bath and hanging in his hazel eyes. Definitely not wrapped in a towel and nothing _but_ a towel.

Petra wondered suddenly why she'd never really considered him like this before? She'd secretly admired the broad, bare chests of Gunther and Eld on rest days where they would come back from swimming in the river behind the castle, they were always a welcome sight even if she felt nothing romantic for them...but she'd never seen Auruo join them in the swimming and she could never recall him even having his shirt unbuttoned very low, and if he ever had then that damn cravat had covered it all. He wasn't built like the other two, they were large and broad and had muscles that bunched and stuck out impressively...Auruo had a somewhat smaller build, his shoulders were broad but not _as_ broad and he didn't have that tapered waist thing going on, he was straight and tall and his muscles were lean and lithe with the obvious exception of his well developed chest and especially his abs which were clearly defined from all the core work that balancing on the ODM cables required. He was build for speed and grace, not necessarily power...and she decided she liked that build. There was something different that she felt inside as she looked at him now than anything she felt looking at Eld and Gunther.

Auruo froze on the spot when Petra suddenly turned to speak to him without any warning, and now he was feeling extremely uncomfortable because she'd not spoken to him at all...she was just staring again, and this time her jaw was hanging open in obvious appreciation. Holy shit, she looked ready to pounce on him!

He did the only thing he could do in that compromising situation...he ran the fuck away as fast as he could, heading straight for his room.

Petra wasn't one hundred percent what had just happened, but one thing she knew...she wanted to spend this rainy afternoon in that man's bed. It had hit her so suddenly, but it made perfect sense, they had been skirting around this for years, hadn't they? All their bickering...it had served to keep the tension at bay. Well, she wasn't going to waste any more time.

She jumped down from the chair on which she had been standing to dust the top of a book shelf and went to her room to put herself together in a more...presentable way.

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Auruo pulled on a fresh uniform and attempted to calm himself down a bit as he started to redo the ODM straps. He sat heavily on his bed and bent over to wrap the foot straps on then straightened the calf and thigh strips and buckled the thigh buckles. He stood back up and started situating the hip straps and then pulled up the back harness and buckled the chest strap, it was all second nature by now to get all the complicated leather strips in place. He walked a few paces and pulled open the large wooden wardrobe that held his raingear, Scout jackets and his ever present cravats and he took one of the said cravats down and tied it expertly around his neck before he closed the wardrobe door...and proceeded to let out a frightened squeal very much like that of a girl who just saw a spider across the room.

Petra, the woman of his dreams, the woman he'd been in love with since his Cadet days, his partner in battle, his best friend...was standing just behind where his wardrobe door had been separating them and she was naked as the day she was born. With the exception of her ODM straps which were fastened up just as if she was standing there in uniform. For a moment, he had a really stupid thought that maybe she didn't realize she'd forgotten to put the clothes on under it?

Auruo had no idea what to do at that moment. What the hell _was_ this? This had to be some sort of trick, right? RIGHT?

"Auruo," his name rolled off her tongue in a way he'd only ever dreamed of hearing, smooth like honey. He knew his name was hard for some people to pronounce correctly but Petra nailed it in the most amazing way he'd ever heard. She was looking at him now with a small smirk on her face. "You need to take a moment and breathe."

Oh, shit, she was right. He'd been holding his breath this whole time and he mentally forced his lungs to work again since they'd been rendered useless for a moment by the shock and awe of her naked presence.

"Petra, wha...?" but his question went unstated when Petra wrapped her hand around his cravat and yanked it firmly, forcing him to bend to her level so as not to choke. The look in her eyes was a mix of unbridled lust and amusement as she took a moment to look at him like this, waiting eagerly and a bit frightened, for her next move.

"I guess these damn things can come in handy once in a while," she said with a feral smile.

She twisted the piece of material again to prove her point before closing the gap between them and crashing her lips into his in what was to be the first of many heated kisses.


	7. Jealousy

**_Prompt: Jealousy_**

 ** _Characters: Auruo and Petra (Sorry if this seems a bit ooc, but this is the scenario that came to mind and my prompter picked the pairing so...I tried to make it work.)_**

 ** _Rating: T_**

Auruo Bossard didn't have a jealous bone in his body...he had two hundred and six of them.

Unfortunately, Petra Ral was well aware of this fact and made it her goal in life to use it against him as often as she saw fit, which was always right before furlough it would seem. She always started out this way, tiny little flirty touches to Eld's arm or an unnecessarily sweet laugh at one of Levi's many shit jokes or a doe-eyed smile directed at Gunther, a comforting rub on Eren's shoulder...everyone got her attention, everyone but Auruo. She ignored him almost completely the entire time until he was nearly insane with longing for her attention.

He _knew_ she did it on purpose, he _knew_ she was playing with him, and he _knew_ she would pay him back in the most amazing ways possibly when he finally managed to earn her attention back. But while she baited the hook she ignored him completely and flirted shamelessly with everyone else in the Squad. They all seemed to know her little game, with the exception of Eren somehow, and that made everything worse for Auruo because it always turned into five against one with him on the losing end. The worst times were near the finale of Petra's twisted and sadistic game...when she got way too touchy and way too out of line for Auruo to stand by and accept quietly.

It always started about two days before furlough, the small touches and flirtatious looks with the squad...but it got so much worse when they would arrive in Karanese District. Petra would purposely go out of her way to flirt with nearly every member of the male species as she and Auruo made their way through the streets towards their houses and, of course, the men were all happy to oblige a beautiful soldier like Petra.

They always reached her house first and she would trot away without even so much as a "see you later" as her dad came out to greet her on the front steps...but Auruo knew he would see her later, they would both end up at the same tavern together every night because that's just how this whole thing worked. He absolutely _hated it_...even though she promised him every time after the grand finale of her little ploy that she only did it for the end results...not that it made his jealousy any easier to shove down inside.

He would always continue on to his home and her antics would be momentarily forgotten when his little brothers would pile out of the house to cling to his legs and excitedly start telling him every little detail of life in Karanese while he'd been gone. His mother would immediately sit him down at the kitchen table and pile his plate with more food than he could possibly consume and his father would sit with him and ask about his life in the military. But that night when he made his way to the tavern to get a drink with Petra that nasty, jealous side of him would always rear its head again.

This time was no exception...and this time would prove to be more than he could handle.

It was the final night of their furlough and Auruo was sitting in the darkest corner of the tavern, nursing his tender ego with a large mug of very strong local ale as he watched Petra's purposeful display at the bar. She sat there in her yellow sundress, barefoot and innocent looking, surrounded by men. She was giggling and giving out small touches on their arms as she accepted their compliments and their innuendos and terrible pickup lines...and drinks.

But she hadn't accounted for Auruo to let it go on this long, he usually pulled her out of the tavern by her arm on the final night, long before it got to this point. She kept casting furtive glances at him in the corner, but she was miffed to see that he was only looking at her with a look of vague unhappiness and not his usual blood-boiling anger. She blinked a few times as she watched him pick lazily at a loose splinter at his table and she huffed unhappily...her routine wasn't working this time! She would have to play harder. She grinned wickedly at him when he met her eyes and she was pleased to see his brows raise in questioning surprise.

Auruo knew she was looking at him, but he kept his gaze locked on that stupid splinter in the wood near the bottom of his mug, he flicked it with his index finger and sighed, trying not to think about the scene at the bar. But he couldn't look away for long and so his eyes traveled back over to her yellow dress and then up to her amber eyes...which were squinted in annoyance and determination. He wondered what she was planning...because that look could mean nothing good.

And then it happened...Petra whispered something to a particularly good looking young man next to her, her eyes flicking nervously over to Auruo as she did. The young man looked a bit surprised, but he grinned widely and nodded.

And then Petra tilted her head up and kissed him full on the lips.

Auruo spewed the drink he'd just taken all over the table in front of him and he stared in utter shock and disbelief, a feeling of immense discomfort and anger and hurt boiled up inside him and he jumped up from his chair, knocking it over behind him but not even stopping to care. His lips curled into a snarl and he began his march across the floor towards the pair, completely ready to start an all out brawl, but he stopped mid-step when the two of them broke apart from their kiss. Petra's eyes remained closed, her lips parted slightly, she didn't lean back and away but remained there as if frozen in place...he knew that look, it was the same look she had on her face when he would kiss her exceptionally well sometimes. It was a look of...enjoyment.

Suddenly, Auruo forgot about Petra's game, he forgot about being angry and pounding the young man's face in, he forgot about everything...everything except the sudden, sharp pain in the center of his chest that took his breath away and made his eyes sting with the promise of tears. He stood there a moment longer, mouth open in horrified, injured shock, and then as soon as Petra's eyes fluttered open and flicked over to look at him, he spun on his heels and fled the tavern at his top speed.

He ran in no particular direction, he just knew he had to get away and find somewhere to lay down and die in agony. His heart was breaking, he could actually feel it happening, it was splintering into tiny pieces; it had to be, because it hurt so much! The intensity of it took his breath away and he was forced to stop or else his lungs might just explode, so he found himself leaning his lower back against the cold stone wall of an alleyway between two stone houses, his head tucked between his knees as he pulled in long gulps of cold night air.

Petra watched in utter horror as Auruo fled out the door of the tavern and she realized she'd made a terrible mistake as her mind comprehended the look he'd had on his face.

"Oh shit!" she said quickly, sliding off the barstool. The young man she'd just kissed looked surprised by her cursing and he stepped back to let her pass with wide eyes. Petra turned to look at him, apologizing desperately with her eyes. "I am so sorry. I took that way too far, please...thank you for playing along but...I have to go!"

She ran out the door in pursuit of her emotionally compromised boyfriend. She spotted him just as he turned a corner down the street and she was off in a flash. She'd always been faster than him, heck she was faster than anyone in the Special Ops Squad, but this time he was managing to keep ahead of her by a wide margin and she wondered how long he was going to run for...but then she saw him stop abruptly up ahead of her and then he stepped into an alleyway to the side of the street. Petra continued running until she reached the spot where he'd disappeared.

Petra slowed down to a walk and peeks quietly around the corner when she reached it so as not to frighten him if he hadn't heard her coming. The sight that met her eyes made Petra's heart jump into her throat and she knew she'd gone way too far this time...

Auruo sat with his lower back pressed into the stone wall behind him, but his shoulders were slumped and his head hung low, his forehead resting on his knees which were pulled tightly up to his chest in an unconscious gesture of self-protection. He was shaking, she noticed, whether from the chill of the autumn night air or something else entirely, Petra didn't know...but she suspected it was the latter. She took in a deep breath, bit her lip hard and let out a heavy sigh as she stepped into the alleyway and squatted down in front of him, reaching out and resting her hand on his arm in an attempt at gently letting him know she was there. He didn't respond other than a quick catch to his breathing and a twitch of his skin where she made contact.

"Auruo," she whispered softly, "Auruo, I'm so sorry..."

What could she really say, though? Looking back at her stupid choice, she didn't know what else she had expected because Auruo was very strong, very boastful, very proud of his accomplishments as a soldier...and she knew it was all because he was so insecure and unsure of the other side of himself, the side that wasn't a soldier, the side that craved acceptance and respect and love, _her_ love. She knew he was self conscious in his appearance, the fact that he strove to look as much like Captain Levi as he could spoke volumes to that fact; he'd been told all his life he looked old and worn and tired, and Petra hated that he believed it and took it to heart.

Petra's musings were cut short when Auruo let out a defeated sigh and raised his head slightly, just enough to where he could look out over his knees and focus his eyes on a cobblestone to his right side.

"Why do you do this shit, Petra?"

She wasn't sure if she'd actually heard him or not, that's how quiet his voice was when he said it, but when he lifted his head more to look at her, she knew she'd heard right by the expression on his face. If his face was heavily lined when he was his usual scowling or pompous self, it looked ten times more tired and worn as he looked at her now with a gaze of absolute brokenness. She noticed his bottom lip tremble slightly as he struggled to hold her stare and she bit hers in sympathy.

"I..." she stuttered, trying her damndest to come up with a reason he might understand. _Because I want you to stop being so private about our relationship and so I try to make you jealous with the hope you'll just show a little public display of affection? I want the world to know I'm yours and you're mine but you're so damn stubborn so I try to make you jealous like this so you have an idea how it feels to be so unable to touch you around the others? I want you to want me as intensely as I want you?_ "I just...wanted to make you jealous."

God, how lame was that answer?! It didn't come even close to expressing her reasons for the game. She remembered the first time she realized he got so jealous over her, it had manifested in a scorching stare across the table at her as she had innocently laid her hand on top of Levi's in a gesture of amusement at something he'd said, and a round of fantastic sex later that night off in the uninhabited side of the castle. He'd been so open with her that night, growling in her ear how much she frustrated him and how pissed off he was by her little displays even though, back then, she really hadn't done it on purpose,...it had been the best sex of their entire relationship and she had wanted more, so much more, so she began to make it a regular event. But this time, she'd done something she had never even dreamed she would do, she crossed that line that she knew damn well was there and she stepped over it anyway in her hopes of reaching a new level...and she had done just that. But it was a new level of low instead of the high she'd hoped for.

"Well, congratulations," Auruo muttered unhappily, he dropped his gaze back down the ground, "You succeeded."

"I never meant to take it this far, Auruo," Petra pleaded softly, "I...you just didn't seem like you were bother much by it so...I thought I would shock you a bit. I'm sorry, I was wrong, I was so wrong!"

He sighed heavily, his entire frame rising and falling slightly from the depth of it, and he shook his head slightly.

"It's...your choice, Petra," he said, his voice had a strange, choked sound to it, "I...I'd never hold you back and you know it. If...if you need more than I can give then...I won't stop you."

Petra was horrified at the implication. Oh, this wasn't about jealousy anymore...this went so much deeper. He was scared of losing her, he thought she'd done what she did out of curiosity and exploration, testing the local waters for bigger fish. He thought she was unsatisfied with him. Suddenly, Petra's game wasn't fun anymore...it was wicked and terrible and she wished she could take every moment of every round of it back. She'd not known how hard it had been on him all along, watching her fawn over other men; it must have struck a very sensitive chord of insufficiency inside him.

"Auruo..." What could she say to fix this? All she knew is she had to make it right, she had to make him see her side of the situation so he could understand that she'd not intended to hurt him. "Please don't ever say that again."

"H-huh?" This time he looked up at her with a bit more confidence, but not much. She saw the way his hazel eyes were shimmering in the dim light of the street lanterns and she knew he was on the verge of tears, his entire being hanging on what she said next.

Petra gently reached out and placed her hand on his cheek, gently tilting his chin up to look at her fully. She placed her left hand in his right hand, which was hanging limply from where his wrist rested on his knees, and she ran her thumb along the length of his index finger as she thought out her words for a moment. She noticed he did not return the touch and that his jaw was twitching under her hand on his face.

"Don't say that again," Petra repeated, bending slightly to get lower than he was so she could look up at him seriously, humbling herself a bit. "Auruo, I shouldn't have done what I did in there...no excuse I can make is going to hurt you less. I just wanted to...well...when you're jealous, you aren't afraid to come out and say that I'm your girl. You shout it out to anyone in earshot and...and it feels so good to have you say it out loud. You keep us such a secret, and I know it's because of the whole "inter-military relations" thing but...I don't want us to be ashamed and secretive. I want everyone to know because it feels so right that we're together."

Auruo was staring at her with an odd expression and he remained silent for quite a while.

"Then why didn't you just tell me that?" he asked quietly when he finally spoke, "Wouldn't that have been a bit easier?"

Petra blushed brightly.

"I told you about this before," she reminded him, "You get so...rough when we get back to the castle. It's always fantastic sex and I just...know when you're jealous about me that it brings that out of you."

"Fuck, Petra, I only do that shit for you!" Auruo defended himself quickly, he seemed a lot less frightened than he had been a moment ago, he was blushing brightly now with shame of the things they'd done in that back room of the castle, "I'd never treat you like that for real! You told me to!"

"I know I did," Petra assured him, "And I meant it. But...when you're jealous, like really, honestly jealous, I can just tell from the way you...ugh, look, let's not discuss our sex life right here in the street!"

"You started it!" he snapped back at her, he was beginning to sound like his old self again.

"I had to! You were about to cry!"

"I was not!"

Petra looked at him with an unimpressed expression and then she sighed and shook her head lightly.

"Auruo...I promise I won't ever do this again," she whispered gently, making sure he had eye contact with her, "I didn't mean to hurt you. I love you. I don't want anyone else but you and don't you EVER forget that again, do you hear me?"

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Auruo just nodded, his eyes softening and his shoulders raising again out of the ashes of defeat with new purpose. They both stood to their feet and began walking home together. Petra reached for Auruo's hand to hold on the way but he gently pushed it away with a very wicked grin.

"Oh no," he said in a low voice, "You'll just have to wait until we get back to the castle tomorrow night. I promise, you'll get what's coming to you."

Petra couldn't wait.

 ** _Ok, so I had a friend proofread this for me and she's already insisted I do a continuation with her new prompt "Punishment" so that will be a one-shot of their sexy fun times back at the castle the next night. Check back soon and I will post it ASAP!_**


	8. Elephant

**_Prompt: Elephant_**

 ** _Characters: Eren, Eld, Gunther, Petra, Auruo and Levi (Slightly AU in the fact that this is set directly after the 57th Recon Mission...but the Special Ops Squad were not brutally murdered and my heart never broke into a million pieces and my OTP/ship was never blown to smithereens in the span of ten seconds)_**

 ** _Rating: T-ish_**

"Are we ever going to address the elephant in the room?" Eren asked, leaning over to the side of the table to whisper this question to Eld. The blond man followed Eren's questioning gaze to the other end of the table where Auruo and Petra were glaring at each other across the wooden surface, wearing matching, bared teeth scowls with their fists clenched at their sides. No one really knew what they were bickering about this time, but it had been going on for several hours now and everyone was aware of the crackling tension between the pair.

"What elephant might that be?" Eld gave the new kid a knowing grin.

"What _is_ it with those two?" Eren questioned, "They act like they despise each other but I saw them fight that female titan together...people who hate eachother don't fight like that!"

Indeed, Eren recalled, the display of their prowess in battle had been incredible and he remembered feeling dazed at their speed and grace and power. Eld and Gunther fought, more or less, on their own terms and in their own way, working with the team while retaining their individuality, but Petra and Auruo had fallen right into a one hundred percent identical form, Petra on the right, Auruo on the left, each mirroring the other perfectly so that their strikes landed at exactly the same places at exactly the same time. He remembered seeing matching feral grins on their faces as they'd flung themselves upwards, arcing up in synchronized back flips before coming down like lightning to take out the titan's eyes...all this they had done without speaking a single word, as if it was second nature to them to fight like that, side by side and perfect in timing.

"Well then," Gunther said from Eren's other side, his voice sounded like he was hinting at some big secret, "What does that tell you?"

Eren looked back down the table at the two and, for the first time, noticed that, even though they were growling at eachother and throwing out terms like "Nag" and "Pig", there was no malice in their eyes at all; they glinted with mischief...and something else. Suddenly it clicked in Eren's mind.

"They...they like eachother," he replied to Gunther's question, "Oh my god, they like eachother a LOT!"

"They've been best friend since they were kids," Eld informed him with a nod, "They joined the Cadets together, fought side by side together for years before being chosen for this Squad. Levi happened to see them take down a titan just the way they attacked the female titan and he was obviously pretty impressed by their teamwork."

"Rightly so, I'd say," Gunther commented, "Their style is totally unique. I doubt anyone but the two of them could pull it off...well, maybe Levi."

"So are they...official or what?" Eren asked, not remembering ever seeing his two comrades even remotely touching eachother in any unusual way.

Gunther and Eld both sighed and shook their heads, rolling their eyes almost at the same time.

"No, damn it," Gunther growled.

"They're fucking impossible."

Eld, Gunther and Eren all turned their heads in surprise at the sound of Levi's voice, low and full of annoyance. The Captain glared the two bickering friends at the other end of the table and shook his head.

"Yeah, kid, you just now noticed what we've been frustrated with for years," Gunther muttered, resting his head on one hand as he continued to watch the display down the table. Petra was on her feet now, her hands slammed on the table and she leaned halfway across the table to make her angry threat seem more intimidating, but Auruo just leaned back in his chair and smirked at her, seemingly unaffected by her words.

"I wish they would just fuck and get it over with already," Levi grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning his weight to one foot. Eren was surprised at this, he'd always assumed there was some sort of spark between the Captain and the fiery redheaded soldier.

"Isn't that against the rules?" he squeaked.

Levi cocked his eyebrow and gave his newest recruit a look that clearly said " _Really? You're gonna throw the rulebook in MY face_?"

"This is _my_ squad; I make the rules."

"Maybe they just need some encouragement..." Eld commented lazily.

Suddenly, after all the hell the previous Recon mission had been, this seemed like the most important thing in the world to Eren! He remembered a scary moment during the battle with the female titan when it had regenerated faster than anyone had anticipated and had caught Petra in its one-eyed sight and took off after her...Petra had been so shocked and surprised that she hesitated almost too long before grappling a nearby tree and pulling herself up just before the titan's foot could come down on top of her. Eren had been terrified for her, but Auruo had been beside himself with panic and Eren remembered his panicked scream of _"PETRA!"_ in that moment when it seemed she would be crushed. That scream had rung through the forest and made Eren shiver at the time and the reason why now hit him with full force...that level of terror was something he had felt himself many years ago when he'd watched his mother die.

Petra could have died, hell they ALL could have died, and she would have died without ever knowing or ever admitting the truth...these two loved eachother fiercely!

"Then we need to encourage them!" he announced with resolution, "There's no time to be skirting around the truth in this world! They need to know because they'll always regret it if they don't."

His three comrades grunted in agreement and they all nodded, forming a silent pact in that moment.

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The infamous elephant was back in the room, manifesting in yet another bickering match. It had started when, in the process of sweeping the floor of the kitchen on Levi's orders, Auruo had made the comment that cleaning was "women's work" and Petra, who had been dusting the windowsills, rounded on him quicker than any movement Eren had ever seen and she was right up in Auruo's personal space before he even knew it was coming. Even now, Auruo was leaning backwards slightly and holding his hands out in a gesture of peace while Petra leaned forward, her finger waggling in his face as she scolded him on not being a sexist jerk.

Eren saw his chance and took it. Walking past them, he pretended to trip and purposely bumped into Petra's back, using her already leaning stance to his advantage, which made her stumble and smack firmly into Auruo's chest with a surprised yelp. Auruo automatically grabbed her shoulders to steady her and, for a brief, victorious moment, they remained like that and stared at eachother with matching blushes on their faces. The moment was over quickly, both of them pushing apart and clearing their throats as they returned to their previous chores.

"Sorry, guys," Eren shrugged, putting on his most innocent face.

"Maybe you should watch where you're walking, you clumsy greenhorn," Auruo muttered, but that was all the acknowledgement Eren received and he took it as a good sign.

Gunther got his turn the next afternoon even though he didn't even intend for it to happen.

The squad lined up in the yard as Levi examined them all closely. It was sparring practice day, a skill now deemed much more important by the military since it was discovered that humans were as much the enemy as Titans.

Gunther and Auruo were paired up, Eld and Petra made another pair and Eren was Levi's partner. Gunther began immediately circling Auruo in a low crouch, ready for anything that the considerably smaller man decided to throw at him. However, what Auruo may have lacked in bulk he made up for in speed and stubborn determination, and Eren stared in amazement when a well placed leg sweep and palm strike resulted in Gunther sprawling face first on the grass as Auruo sidestepped gracefully away from the bigger man's flailing grip.

"Gunther, won't you ever learn?" Auruo crowed, looking extremely pleased with himself. He placed his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest, "You would think you would have known by now you have to be quick on your feet if you want to survive in th-"

But Gunther's face twisted into a manic grin and his leg swung with enough power to completely sweep both of Auruo's legs out from under him, sending his sparring partner falling backwards onto the ground with a very solid and painful sounding _thud!_

"Ow, damn it!" Auruo whined and Eren rolled his eyes when he saw blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He stuck out his tongue, which was bleeding profusely, and glared angrily at Gunther. "You soopid ath-hoe!"

Petra was at her bleeding friend's side in a flash, she quickly yanked his ever-present cravat off his neck and stuffed it unceremoniously into his mouth, earning her a very indignant, muffled complaint.

"Hush, Auruo," Petra insisted, "I swear to god, one day you're going to bite off your tongue and die!"

"You'd lite dat, wouldn' you, nag?" Auruo spoke awkwardly between his lolling tongue and the material of the cravat pressed onto it.

"Shut up, you idiot," Petra shook her head in annoyance, "You know damn well I'd be a worthless mess without you."

And there it was, Eren thought with a thrill, Petra had just unwittingly thrown her feelings out there for the world to hear and she blushed brightly when she realized what she'd said. But Auruo was too focused on the pain of his throbbing, bleeding tongue to really notice.

But Petra was undeterred and, when a tear began to slide from the corner of Auruo's eye from the pain, she gently wiped it away with a finger, and Eren saw how slowly she let her finger slide down her friend's cheek, too slowly to be anything less than what would be considered a caress.

Auruo didn't really respond in a surprised and flustered way like Eren had expected, instead his eyes flicked over to meet Petra's, a question obvious in their hazel depths. But, if Petra saw the question, she decided not to answer it; she stood and offered him a hand up and the two of them left the training area to go nurse his injury on the steps of the castle.

Eld's chance to address the proverbial elephant came that evening.

The squad sat at the kitchen table, eating dinner while Hanji loudly explained her latest Titan experiments in gruesome detail. Auruo eyed the food in front of his comrades sadly, his tongue still too raw and sore to eat anything so he filled his empty stomach with water and lukewarm chicken broth. Petra kept looking across the table at him with a pitying expression on her face, immediately looking away as soon as Auruo would glance at her. Eren thought it was kind of pathetic, really.

After dinner, they all gathered in the common room, which was now filled with fairly comfortable furniture that Levi had managed to convince the higher ups that they absolutely had to have, and Hanji animatedly continued her tales of Titan anatomy exploration.

Eren and Gunther sat next to eachother on one couch, across from Hanji. Eld claimed the chair to Hanji's left. Levi sat next to Hanji on the couch, leaned back to avoid being smacked by Hanji's excited hands. Auruo, always a surprise, laid out flat on his back on the floor, one leg bent slightly at the knee, his head rested on his crossed arms behind him, he closed his eyes and visibly relaxed to the point of his normally smugly scrunched features to smooth out and Eren thought he looked much younger and more genuine like that. He wondered what Auruo had been like before joining the Special Ops Squad...Petra had mentioned before how he was different now from the way he used to be, and that old part of him seemed to be present in sleep.

Petra emerged from the kitchen a while later since it was her turn to clean the dishes after dinner and she didn't even hesitate before sitting next to Auruo's sleeping form on the floor, her eyes flicked over to him and Eren saw her smile slightly before she turned her attention back to Hanji's story.

Eld played with the scruff on his chin as he surveyed the pair on the floor, Petra's head was nodding and her body swayed slightly as her eyes fluttered closed and then she would jerk back to reality and blink as she tried to stay awake. Eld grinned and stood from his chair to go to the kitchen as an excuse for his reason to stand, he returned with a cup of water and , as he passed by the pair on the floor, he kicked Auruo in the side. Auruo jerked awake and let out a slurred sting of colorful French curse words as he looked around for the source of the rude awakening.

"What's your damn problem?" he growled up at Eld.

Eld held up his finger to his lips and nodded towards Petra who had fallen alseep with her chin resting on her chest, swaying as he body subconsciously swayed side to side in an effort to keep her upright. Auruo's face immediately softened and the corner of his lips twitched upwards ever so slightly.

"You should help her to her room," Eld informed his friend, "She looks too worn out to even walk there on her own."

Auruo looked up at Eld and his eyebrows scrunched together in a confused look, but then he shrugged and moved into a crouch beside Petra and, with shaking hands, slid his arms under her knees and neck, gently tilting her until he had her in a bridal-style carry. He straightened up without any sort of effort, and Petra suddenly looked very small in his arms. Hanji had stopped talking and was staring, open mouthed at the scene; Levi elbowed her and gave her a stern and pointed look, waving his hand in a way that conveyed to her to keep talking and not be obvious.

But Auruo didn't seem to be paying attention to anything else but the woman in his arms. He looked down at her face with a tiny ghost of a smile on his lips, his eyes bright and his head tilted slightly to the side in an adoring sort of way. He turned and walked out of the room and down the hall towards Petra's bedroom.

Everyone waited on pins and needles, hoping against hope that he would stay back in the room with her and not return to the living room...but he did. Eld sighed in annoyance.

"Well, uh, I'm gonna...turn in," Auruo announced pointedly, and they realized he was purposely telling them this so they wouldn't suspect he had remained with Petra. His arm hung awkwardly in front of him and Eld realized his friend was discreetly covering his groin...

"Well, that's...something, I guess,"

"What?" Eren asked, feeling like he missed something.

Hanji giggled.

"He seemed a bit flustered, wouldn't you say?" she grinned wickedly, "I wonder what happened back there in that short time?"

Later that night, when Eren passed the door to Petra's room, he figured out exactly what had happened. He had just reached Petra's room on his way to his own room and a sound made him hesitate and listen closely. He realized it was Petra making noises in her sleep, mostly it was all indiscernible mumbling but then...

"Auruo!"

Eren clapped his hand over his mouth to halt the triumphant, fan-girl squeal that bubbled up in his throat and he wildly gestured for Eld, Gunther and Levi to come over and listen. The trip approached and leaned in to listen for themselves. Petra's mumbling had quickly turned into strained whines and small, sleepy moans and Levi had literally just opened his mouth to admonish his team for being perverse creepers when Petra's voice rose again.

"Auruo! Please...yes..." and then it faded into mumbled again and the sound of her moving in her bed, then snoring.

Everyone's eyes went wide and Eld fist pumped the air.

"Alright, so it's a start," Gunther muttered, "Now, can I please get some sleep?"

They disbanded, feeling successful, and they all secretly began to make plans for how to influence the coupling of their comrades on the morrow.

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The next day, everyone had gathered for breakfast at 7 AM, except for Petra who showed up about a half hour later than them. She greeted them with a friendly tone but the fact that she was avoiding looking at Auruo was painfully obvious, her bright red blush as she took a seat next to him was obvious as well...Eld had purposely made them sit so it was the only available seat.

"Sleep well?" Auruo asked, there was a hint of mischief in his voice and a twinkle in his eye. Petra's head jerked up and she looked at him with a worried expression, like a spooked horse showing the whites of its eyes.

"Why do you ask!?" she yelped. Gunther smacked his palm to his forehead and nearly choked on his oatmeal as he tried not to laugh. "I slept just fine, thank you! Yep, didn't even dream, not a bit!"

Auruo cocked an eyebrow high into his hairline and he grinned in amusement.

"You know...I carried you to your room last night?" he informed her and she stared at him in horror, "You were pretty talkative."

"I...Ugh, you are such an idiot!" Petra's blush was deepening so much that Eren was concerned she might pass out from her intense embarrassment, "I do _not_ talk in my sleep!"

"I beg to differ," Auruo pushed the conversation with glee, "You wanna know what you said?"

"NO!" Petra almost shrieked and Auruo visibly recoiled in surprise when she fixed him in a fierce gaze, but he recovered quickly and his lips spread into the biggest shit eating grin Eren had ever seen. He leaned over and put his lips to Petra's ear, cupping his hand around his mouth to prevent the rest of the table from hearing, but Eren was sitting right next to them and he heard it anyway.

"You were moanin' and you said: ' _Oh, Auruo, please don't stop!'."_

Eren just barely managed to keep a straight face and he shoved some oatmeal in his mouth to stifle his impending laugh.

Petra's eyes had widened to the point that she looked insane and her mouth open and closed like a fish out of water, a drop of sweat slid down her bright red face and then...she groaned loudly and dropped her head loudly onto her arms on the table, covering her face in shame and embarrassment. Auruo's smile was a level of smug that Eren had never seen on a human being before.

"Well, what did she say?!" Gunther asked, annoyed at being out of the loop.

"Why, Gunther, I'm shocked!" Auruo said with fake innocence, "I would never reveal a lady's innermost secrets that she whispers in the throes of sleep."

"Oh , get off your high horse," Eld rolled his eyes, "Like you haven't told us everything about every girl you've ever been with."

Gunther gave Eld an odd look but then comprehension dawned on his face and he grinned wickedly and played along.

"Yeah, Auruo, remember that time you told us about the blonde from the Garrison Regiment?" the dark haired soldier said, a hint of teasing in his voice, "You know...the one...with the ODM gear...against Wall Rose?"

Auruo's smug look was gone and had been replaced with utter horror and indignation.

"WHAT!?" he snapped, "I never did th-..."

"Or the hefty brunette in the stables?" Eld offered.

"My favorite story was the blonde in Levi's office." Eren caught on to the joke and added his own falsehood to the pile lies.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Auruo's cool was gone, all semblance of the haughty, pompous veteran gone in an instant. He looked half crazed as he waved his fists at the two men across the table and then turned his fury in Eren's direction, "None of that shit is true and I don't know what the fuck your point is but you better shut your mouths before I knock all your teeth out!"

Auruo's tirade dissolved into a jumble of furious French and Levi's flinch told them all that whatever was being said was quite colorful indeed...Eren leaned far away from the angry man next to him and started to giggle in spite of himself. So THIS was the real Auruo Bossard: easily flustered and embarrassed and the type of guy who he could finally picture pissing his pants and crying at his first sight of a Titan.

"Is all that true?"

The quiet, whispered question made Auruo stop his multi-language swearing and he looked down at Petra earnestly, Petra was looking up at him with a look of injury and insult on her face.

"Wha-? No! They're being assholes, Petra!" he assured her quickly, loudly, "I've never even had s..."

And he clamped his mouth shut, blushing quickly and brightly.

Eld, Gunther and Eren couldn't hold back any longer, they all broke into raucous laughter at the same time and Auruo began to sink low in his chair, his eyes staring at the table, unfocused and filled with horror.

"ENOUGH!" Levi's command caused the room to fall into a surprised silence, Eren swore he heard the sound of crickets chirping. Levi stood up and scanned his squad with his nose wrinkled like he smelled something offensive. "This is getting ridiculous."

"You're tellin' me," Auruo mumbled under his breath, still red as a tomato.

"All this shit is giving me a damn headache," Levi pinched the bridge of his nose as if to make his point even more clear, "I am so sick of your shit. Would the two of you just..."

Petra sat up straight and she was looking at Levi with ashamed unhappiness.

"I'm sorry, sir!" she apologized quickly, "I didn't mean to cause any trouble! Auruo was being a pig!"

Auruo's embarrassment disappeared under the anger of being accused of such a thing; he turned on her and bared his teeth at her betrayal.

"As your Captain, I must inform you that your stupid, blind and hopeless idiocy is making the rest of us really pissed off," Levi continued, "Watching the two of you dance around the issue like a damn couple of ignorant ass hats is driving us all to the point of kicking your asses into a closet to sort out your issues for yourselves...but you'd probably just sit there and ignore it again."

"What issue are you referring to, sir?" Auruo was genuinely, honestly confused but Petra was beginning to look uncomfortable as she comprehended what Levi was insinuating.

Levi looked at Auruo with unfiltered annoyance.

"Do I need to come right out and say it?" he asked, turning his gaze on Petra who was sliding down in her seat the same way Auruo had been only moments either.

Auruo looked to Petra for help but she ignored him and slunk even lower to the point that Eren thought she would just slide right out onto the floor underneath the table.

"I guess you do," Auruo said, sounding totally clueless and Petra's elbow shot out so suddenly and connected to his side so harshly that everyone assumed she had probably broken a few of his ribs.

"Fine," Levi squinted seriously, "Your orders for the day while the rest of us are out on patrol...I want you two to just fuck eachother and get it out of your damn systems!"

Auruo's jaw dropped and he looked at Levi as if he'd never seen anything quite like him; Petra did indeed slide off her chair and disappeared under the table with a horrified squeal. Gunther and Eld were looking highly amused and Eren was grinning like an idiot.

"You...wait...what the hell?" Auruo tried very hard to regain his composure, but he failed miserably, his face turning the color of a ripe tomato, "That's not...why would we...?"

"Are you going to defy a direct order from your Captain, Auruo?" Eren put on his best, most innocent expression, one that clearly got his point across, "You're a veteran, you said you trusted Levi without hesitation."

"With my LIFE but not my sexual exploits!" Auruo yelled, "You don't have the right t-..."

But his complaints and anger were cut off suddenly and his eyes dropped to his lap, his expression utterly shocked.

"Don't question your Captain," Petra's voice came from beneath the table.

Eren clearly saw Petra's small hand slip between Auruo's thighs and he was so done with this...

"Ok!" he yelped, jumping up and urgently beckoning his comrades, "Let's get going on that patrol! Seriously, like right now!"

Levi, Eld and Gunter immediately got the message they all but ran from the kitchen, laughing and high-fiving all the way to the stables. Success!

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	9. Punishment

_**Prompt: Continue "Jealousy", please! New prompt "Punishment"**_ _ **  
**_ _ **Characters: Auruo and Petra**_ _ **  
**_ _ **Rating: M**_ _ **  
**_ _ **Trigger Warning: Not sure if a healthy dose of good ol' SM (holy shit, I love it!) could trigger anyone, but just in case, you have been warned! Herein lies bondage, slaps and bites and all that good stuff. (Seriously though, if you've never tried it...you should).**_

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**  
"The ride back to HQ was one of the most frustrating and exciting rides Petra had ever been on...involving a horse anyway; her "rides" with Auruo were always exciting and _never_ frustrating.

She giggled insanely at that thought and it earned her an odd look from Eld on her left side so she turned her head to avoid his gaze and her giggle caught in her throat and died when she realized Auruo had brought his horse right up beside hers, their legs almost touching as they matched pace, and he was staring at her out of the corner of his eye, his face was stern.

And just what exactly are you laughing about?" he asked, and Petra was surprised at the sound of his voice. He wasn't speaking to her in that tone he had when he was acting like Levi, it lacked that pompous air and he sounded like himself, like she'd heard him so many times before they'd met Levi and joined his squad, like he was the teenage boy she'd spent so many hours with as they talked about their dreams and aspirations and the glory of being a soldier in the Survey Corps...he sounded like Auruo, not a sad copy of Levi.

Petra shook her head and bit her bottom lip, not daring to open her mouth to speak what she was feeling and thinking about. Auruo regarded her in silence for a while and then he leaned over, close enough that she thought he was going to kiss her right there in front of everyone, but he put his lips to her ear.

Laugh while you can."

Petra's stomach dropped and she sucked on her tongue to keep from letting a nervous giggle come out of her mouth. That familiar warmth was pooling in her abdomen, a throbbing need in the lowest part of her, her thighs twitched at the intensity of the feeling...and she couldn't help it, the laugh burst from her so loudly that Erwin turned slightly on his horse to look back at her. She straightened up and tried not to seem flustered.

Auruo was still looking at her with that stern expression and he rode at her side for some time, silent and thoughtful...before he leaned back over to speak to her again.

You think this is funny, huh?" he whispered, his voice had a slight growl to it, "You're kind of a sadist, you know?"

"Me?" Petra gave him a wide-eyed innocent look and blinked.

"Yeah, you enjoy making me wait like you do, planning all this out so I can't get to you on furlough and then making me watch you the whole ride back."

"They say that anticipation is half the fun."

"Well that might be true if it wasn't such a fucking long wait!" Auruo snapped, his fists closed tight on the reigns, Petra heard the leather squeak from the pressure, " You know how damn sexy you look riding? The muscles in your legs working when you balance, your hair getting caught in the breeze, the way the top of your ass peaks over the saddle when you lean forward to gallop...fuck."

Auruo pulled away with huff and pulled the reigns to the other side, putting some much needed space between them as he sped up a bit to take the empty spot on Levi's right side. Petra stared at his back with a grin...he was so flustered by watching her ride that he had to get her out of his sight line. It was flattering. However, this maneuver of his now had him in full sight of her and she found herself fixated on his left thigh and she realized he had been right about being able to see the muscles move underneath the tight, white uniform pants, circled by the leather straps of the ODM harness. Hmm...almost like the way they quivered when she would have him in her mouth, her hand resting on his thigh for stabilization, from the feeling of her working him closer and closer to the edge. He always started to shake when he was close, she'd noticed, it was his tell-tale sign of impending release.

"Oh, please stop!" Petra said out loud to herself, shaking her head to try and chase out the memories of him coming undone in her mouth, which was one of her favorite memories in the world, to be honest. Eld looked at her again and she blushed brightly when she realized that statement had been louder than she planned. "Uh...it's my horse...she just...isn't wanting to listen to me today."

Eld gave the gentle mare underneath Petra a calculating look.

"Mmhm." Was all he said.

The ride home continued on and Petra was getting more and more flustered by the second, desire coiled in her gut and memories of their past 'post-Petra's game' trysts came flooding over her one after another...by the time they reached the Special Ops Squad's castle, she was wound tighter than a pocketwatch and she could barely dismount her horse because her legs were shaking from the anticipation. But, first things first, the horses had to be taken care of, fed and brushed, so the six of them led their horses into the stables and hung up their saddles.

Petra grabbed a brush and started working her mare's rumpled, sweat covered coat down as her thoughts continued to stray into unsafe territory. Her mind was so preoccupied that she didn't notice Auruo approach her from behind until he was almost literally right on top of her, his entire front pressed into her back and she felt the heat of his breath as he leaned down to whisper in her ear:

"You brush that horse any slower and I'll take you right here in front of god and everyone."

Petra clapped her hand to her mouth to stifle to squeak of surprise that nearly burst from her throat, her eyes went wide and she nodded quickly to let him know she had gotten the point. She brushed so fast that her horse gave her a weird look and she apologized profusely to the mare, promising to bring her some carrots tomorrow.

Finally, she was done brushing and she turned to go fetch hay and oats to put in the feed trough but when she turned she ran smack into Auruo's chest, he held out a chunk of hay and a container of oats to her and she took them with grateful, yet shaking, hands. Finally...everything was settled. Levi and Eren were finishing up too and heading out the door, Eld and Gunther had already started making their way up the path to the castle. Willing herself to move, Petra exited the stable without even looking at Auruo and walked briskly beside Eren and Levi as Auruo trailed slightly behind.

When she glanced over her shoulder at him he gave her a very stern look full of threatening promise, her tummy flipped and she whipped her head back around and focused on the castle door that was approaching far too quickly...any second now...

"C'mon, nag," Auruo's voice snapped the second they stepped inside, he caught her wrist in his hand and yanked her non too gently in the direction of the stairway towards the bedrooms. Petra squeaked in surprise and looked behind at her towards the rest of the Squad who all looked equally surprised...except for Eld, he looked kind of smug and he gave her a wink just as she was pulled roughly around the corner and up the steps.

At the top of said steps, Auruo turned on her like some sort of hungry animal and pushed her firmly against the wall which knocked the breath out of her and resulted in a slight smack of her head against it. But he didn't even seem to notice as he pressed against her as close as possible, his mouth roughly claiming hers in a searing kiss, raising her wrists over her head and pinning them there with one hand while his other hand slid unhesitatingly under her shirt, his hand skimmed over the tight wrappings on her chest and he pulled back from the kiss to snarl at her.

"Wish you didn't have to wear this shit," he hissed, and he released his hold on her wrists to let her get away from the wall slightly. He put his left hand on her shoulder and turned her towards the hall again, his right hand came down in a quick motion to land a fairly hard smack on her butt.

"Auruo!" Petra blushed brightly and glanced around nervously, "They're gonna hear that!"

"Just shut up and get moving."

She obeyed...for now anyway. She felt giddy as they made their way down the hall and she would have kept walking towards the next staircase to go up to the third, unused level where they usually did this stuff, but she was shocked when Auruo's arm wrapped around her waist and he pulled her to the side. He opened a door and Petra looked inside, realizing he'd pulled her into a bedroom... _his bedroom_.

"Oh..." Petra looked up at him in confusion.

"You said you were tired of hiding it, right?" Auruo asked, his aggressive and rough facade faded slightly as he brought up this serious issue.

Petra scanned his face and realized he was completely serious, her heart fluttered pleasantly and she nodded her affirmative...and that was all the confirmation he seemed to need. His hesitance disappeared and that hungry and stern expression came back over his face.

"Get on the bed. Now."

A simple command, not even the most demanding she'd ever heard from him, but this was new...far more intimate, knowing that their squad was probably going to hear some things they wished they hadn't, knowing that he wasn't afraid to let them hear it. She didn't feel a speck of shame at all as she ran to the bad and flopped down on it, burying her face in his pillow and inhaling deeply, it smelled just like him and she loved it!

Auruo grinned as he walked to the side of the bed and looked down at her, his expression feral and tense...but he didn't move to touch her yet.

"Get out of that shitty uniform," he ordered, crossing his arms across his chest and leaning to one side.

"But you told me to get on the bed..." Petra immediately knew she'd walked right into some kind of trap because his eyes sparked and he squinted at her in annoyance.

"Take. It. Off."

He turned around then and pulled open the wardrobe against the wall and started rustling around for something inside. Petra stood up and followed his order, she had to because the results of disobeying were both terrible and wonderful...he would tease her to the point of insanity and tears. She hated it and loved it at the same time. She yanked her straps and harness off and kicked off her boots, then she quickly discarded her pants, shirt and wrappings just in time for him to turn around.

Auruo was good at this game they played, but he had his moments where the rough act he put on would falter and he did at that moment. His stern and animalistic demeanor dropped for a moment, his eyes wide and appreciative as he scanned her nearly naked body, the only clothing left were her underpants...but the moment passed and he stepped forward, holding something behind his back, and pushed her in the center of her chest, resulting in her falling heavily backward onto the mattress.

She wiggled out of her underwear and tossed it aside and he nodded approvingly then grinned a grin that contained such wickedness that it actually made Petra worry for a second, he brought the hand that he'd been holding behind him around and, when it registered what he was holding, her jaw dropped and she gasped. He had a handful of cravats.

"Auruo, no..." Petra groaned unhappily, knowing exactly what he intended to use them for.

"Guess you should have kept your mouth shut then, hmm?" he asked, twirling the strips of material in a circle. He waved his hand in a way that told her to get up further in bed and she obeyed but continued to eye the cravats with an unhappy expression. When she sat up to move, Auruo caught the back of her head in his hand and laid the cravats on the bed, taking one of them and waving it in her face. "Open up, Petra. We're gonna curb that loud mouth of yours."

Oh, sweet Armored Titan in a thong...he was going to...

"You want to gag me with your cravat!?" she couldn't help it, she couldn't keep quiet. Auruo's persona faltered again and he scrunched his eyebrows in a questioning look.

"I thought you liked this stuff?" he asked, suddenly unsure.

"I do! Oh, I DO! But...can't you use...I don't know, _anything_ beside that?" she asked, blushing brightly.

Auruo's eyes flicked between Petra's blushing face and the offending item in his hand and looked completely lost. Petra sighed and decided to end the mystery.

"It's just that...if you use that...every time I see you wearing it..." she lamely sputtered out her excuse, "All I'll be able to think about is what you did with tonight."

Auruo's hesitation faded once he realized why she was hesitating and his animal grin was back.

"Good. I _want_ you to think about this every time you see me."

And she didn't have any time to make a comeback before her mouth was covered in the material that was pulled between her lips and then quickly tied behind her head. Auruo examined his work and tested the tightness to make sure it wasn't too tight.

"Ok?" he asked for her confirmation, she nodded.

The second cravat he tied tight around both of her wrists and then he stood up and scanned her up and down, seeming satisfied at the sight of her bound and gagged on his bed. If he was being honest about it...yeah, he'd maybe dreamed about this once or twice...  
He removed his ODM straps in such a teasingly slow manner that Petra growled around the gag and glared at him. God, he was such a damn tease sometimes...but she guess she deserved it after all she'd put him through this last week. But, still, she was aching to see him and aching even more to feel him and hear more of his demanding statement, his growls in her ear, his breath catching in pleasure...it was almost the sounds more than anything else that she loved the most.

Finally, sweet lord, finally he dropped the harness and straps off to his side and began undoing the buttons on his shirt, his eyes locked on hers the entire time until he shed it and then looked down at the floor as his hands moved to his pants...and Petra felt a rush of affection. Auruo, for as many times as they'd done this, for as forceful and rough as he could be and she knew he would be tonight, he was still so self conscious about himself and he never looked her in the eye when he would remove the lower half of his clothes.

But he did remove them without hesitation and Petra's eyes grew wide in appreciation at the highly enticing image of him standing there in all his naked, hard and straight, lean muscled glory, his hair mussed up from removing his clothes. God, she loved him...god she wanted him so bad!

"Mmmph!" she wiggled around on the bed and squeezed her legs together as the heat and need for friction increased between her legs, she wanted to beg him to end her misery but she couldn't speak around the damned cravat.

He was on top of her in a flash, the weight of him pressed on her almost to the point of not being able to breathe, he glared down at her, his upper lip pulled up at the right corner, his canine teeth bared in a snarl, he grabbed her bound wrists and yanked them over her head, fingertips digging almost painfully into the skin there.

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" he growled and the sound sent a jolt of excitement deep into Petra's abdomen. She wiggled beneath him, desperate to feel more of him. As it was, the tell-tale harness of him was pressed firmly into her thigh and she thought if she could just move her hip a little to the left...but his hand released her wrists and went directly to her hip, shoving her pelvis into the mattress with enough force to cause an alarmed squeak to come from Petra and she pushed at his arm with her tied fists, but he didn't budge, he just looked down at her with a smirk, "You gonna fight me, Petra? You know you can't win, right?"

Oh, a challenge...Petra bucked her hips, hard! She may have been smaller than he was but she was still a soldier and she was strong, so he was caught off guard by her violent movement and his eyes went wide as she succeeded in lifting his lower half completely off the bed for a moment before her legs gave out and laid flat again.

"Oh you little..."

What she was exactly, Petra never found out. She heard the slap connect with her leg a split second before she felt the sting and she gasped. _Oh, that's...new..._

Auruo froze, looking horrified.

"Oh, shit! Oh fuck, Petra, I'm sorry!"

Petra shook her head quickly, trying to convey that it was ok. She'd...she'd actually kind of liked it...she could get used to this...he scanned her face for a moment, worry in every feature on his face, until he was absolutely sure she wasn't going to beat the shit out of him for that move. She nodded approvingly and he sighed in relief, his grin returning slowly.

"God, nag, you're a freak," he commented and Petra nodded eagerly.

He looked at her incredulously for a moment before he fell back into character, gripping both her hips in his hands, he met her eyes and gave her a silent signal: _I'm going in_.

Petra knew there was no need for preliminary measures, she was wet and eager and when he pushed into her, every last glorious inch, he met no resistance. He groaned deeply and then raised his head, lifting himself onto his right elbow he grinned wickedly and began thrusting into her with quick, forceful strokes, his free hand wrapped firmly around her throat, pinning her against the bed and cutting off her air supply. The combined effect of him pounding into her below and the lightheaded feeling of choked was like ascending into a new dimension, dreamy and unreal...the sensations were so intense. He released his hold on her neck only moments later, knowing damn well there's a limit to that stuff...he'd never overstep his bounds.

He replaced his hand on her neck for his mouth, clamping his teeth firmly at the junction of her neck and shoulder which resulted in a muffle moan on her part and a rumbling growl of approval on his part. He sucked hard on that spot on her neck, purposely making his mark there for all the world to see...knowing damn well her uniform wouldn't cover it. God, she loved it...it was a bold move.

"That's probably gonna hurt a bit tomorrow," he commented through his teeth, the furious pace of his thrusts not slowing or faltering as he spoke in a deep tone, "Should remind you of who you belong to, right? Right?"

Petra cocked her head, unable to speak around the blasted cravat still and he looked at her for a moment in annoyance before he reached up and untied it, yanking it from her mouth and tossing it aside. Fuck it, he wanted to hear her say it, he wanted to hear her say so many things and he wished he'd never gagged her in the first place because he knew he'd missed a lot of her sounds.

"Who do you belong to, Petra?" he asked again, increasing the force of his thrusts to get the point across: he really needed to hear her say it.

"I don't belong to anyone!" Petra hissed, her face screw up in mock resistance.

Auruo grabbed her wrists and pinned them again, he got so close to her face that the tips of their noses almost touched and he gave her the most fierce look he could manage around the amazing feeling of moving in and out of her...it was hard to maintain that composure.

"I'll ask you again: Who. Do. You. Belong. To?" Each word was accented with a forceful buck of his hips and Petra almost lost the fight, but she steeled herself and gave him a defiant look.

"No one!"

Auruo growled and backed off, pulling out of her and jumping up to stand next to the bed again, but this time he didn't waste any time looking at her and enjoying the view, he grabbed her by the wrists and pulled her up to stand next to him, holding her hand over her head so she had to stand on her tiptoes. She met his show of anger with a matching look and they faced off like this for a long moment.

"Gonna be that way, huh?" Auruo finally broke the relative silence and let her back down to her level, then he placed his hand on her shoulders and pushed her down till she gave up and got on her knees in front of him. She bit her bottom lip as her nose brushed against the length of him on her way down. Oh...this was definitely one of her most favorite past times, but she knew for the sake of their little game that she had to resist and pretend she hated this. Her acting skills got a wonderful workout every time they did this.

"If you think I'm gonna do this, you're wrong," she said in a calm voice, looking up at him and giving him a bored look, "You can't make me do anything."

Auruo's left eyebrow cocked up into his shaggy hair and she knew she'd caught him off guard with that one.

"That so?" he asked, grimly. She nodded and the fight was on.

He grabbed her jaw in his hand squeezed either side tight, causing her teeth to part as he pulled her into him, but she shook her head hard and wiggled out of his grip. He let out a curse word in French and that only made it harder for her...because she loved to hear him fall into his native tongue and it was usually always the result of her working him in her mouth. But she fought back with equal tenacity until he finally gave up and pushed her face away then dropped to his own knees in front of her.

"If that's how you're gonna be then you're not getting off easy," he informed her and she noticed his hazel eyes were nearly pure black from being so dilated with excitement. She knew what was coming...Auruo's favorite.

Sure enough, he had her flipped onto her knees in a split second, just a matter of twisting her around and shoving her head forward as he took his place behind her. Petra quivered in excitement...to be honest, this was probably her favorite too. She felt him push against her center and she fought her instinct to rock her hips back and take him in, she had to let him pace this. But she didn't have to wait long before he buried himself in her with a deep, rumbling groan and grabbed her hips in matching vice-like grips as he both drove into her and pulled her back against him, doubling the effect and making Petra see stars in her vision.

Now, as far as dicks go, Petra mused, he was only slightly above average in size and length...but damn did he put every bit of it to good use. Sometimes she would have the stray thought "Damn, any bigger and this would hurt a lot!"

She felt one of his hands let go of her hip and she took the opportunity to resist and she pulled away from him slightly, but her attempt was met with a solid, loud and resounding slap on her left ass cheek. She gasped loudly and looked over her shoulder at him with a grin. He reached out and turned her head back around then leaned over her back, his teeth clamped onto the top of her ear and she yelped in genuine pain.

"Ow, you..."

"Just shut up and take it."

And good god if those words didn't send a jolt of white hot pleasure down her spine, into her groin and down the inside of her thighs...and weeks of waiting and playing around and teasing came to a head from those words and Petra felt herself coming undone...but there was one more thing to do before she gave in.

"Auruo! Auruo...I'm yours. I...I belong to you!"

And she let go.

"Oh... _fuck_..." she guessed he hadn't expected that because his hips jerked out of sync and he hissed in a breath through his teeth. But it was too late...she felt the familiar trembling that he always did in his thighs and abdomen and he pulled out of her quickly. Petra grinned at the sensation of wet, hot liquid spattering her back as he let loose over her, the sound of his hand working himself through it was erotic and satisfying somehow...score one for Petra. She grinned wickedly at having ruined his little ploy.

She twisted slightly and turned her head to look up at him over her shoulder. He was on one knee, his other knee bent with his foot flat on the floor, his eyes were closed, his brows furrowed and he was breathing hard, cheeks flushed. His hand was still wrapped around his length and Petra waited for him to come back down from his high with a soft smile on her face...god he was so cute like this! Eventually he blinked slowly and opened his eyes then he let go of himself with a sharp inhale and then a deep sigh. He shook his head to clear his foggy mind and then he looked down at her back with a look of disgust.

"Sorry...fuck, I wasn't...I wasn't..."

"Here."

Petra handed him the cravat that had come loose from her wrists during the activities and he looked at her like she was crazy.

"I'm not using this to clean my own cum off you, I have to wear this, you know?"

Petra rolled her eyes and frowned.

"Stop being such a baby."

Eventually he gave in and then he just tossed it in the trash, ignoring her offer to throw it in with the laundry the next morning. He shushed her and pushed her back onto his bed, pulling the covers up over her then crawling in beside her. They lay in the darkness, face to face, and Patra admired how quickly he could change from throwing her around, choking her and slapping her to staring at her with a gentle smile and touching her face with tender hands.

"You're really good at what you do, Auruo Bossard," she commented. He blushed and looked away.

"I only do it for you, Petra," he said quietly, "I know you get a kick out of it."

"Oh, come on, you like it too," she teased him.

"Yeah, maybe a little...but I like this a lot more," he admitted softly, his eyes scanning her face with admiration, "I like loving you more than I like fucking you. I mean...I really like fucking you but...loving you feel more...right."

"More right? Where did you learn English?"

"It's not my first language, you know?!" Auruo poked her nose with his forefinger and grinned at her, "I guess I could just start speaking French all the time if you want grammatical perfection."

"I think I'd like that," Petra smiled genuinely, "I...I love it when you speak French. You do it a lot when you don't think anyone's listening. You talk to your horse in French and you talk to yourself in it too. And you say things in French when I go down on you."

"Is that so?" he actually seemed genuinely surprised by that statement.

Petra nodded and she felt her eyes start to droop in the afterglow of their romp and as she started to drift off, she felt Auruo's hand begin to play gently with her hair, twisting it around his fingers and gently working out the knots in the copper strands.

The last thing she registered before sleep overtook her was Auruo's voice, soft and smooth and perfect in her ears.

 _"Je t'aime, Petra, et je suis à toi."_

AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT

Well, that turned out a lot more sweet than I thought...but I like it so it's staying!

Translation for the last line: "I love you, Petra, and I'm yours."


	10. Fetch

_**Prompt: Playing a game of fetch.**_

 _ **Characters: Mikasa and Jean**_

 _ **Rating: K+**_

 _ **AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT**_

Mikasa rolled her eyes and sighed. Jean was at it again, standing there before her with a blush on his cheeks, his hand rubbing nervously along the back of his neck, his eyes looking anywhere but at her.

"H-hey, Mikasa, I was wondering...would you...like to..."

Mikasa waited, patiently. Jean always did this, try to ask her to go somewhere with him to do something fun...but fun just wasn't her thing and Jean just wasn't either.

"I'm sorry. Gosh, I hate that I can't..." Jean stopped talking and took a long, deep inhale, "I just found something I think you'd like and I was wondering if you want to come see it."

"Jean if you're talking about any of your various appendages..."

"NO!" Jean's blush deepened and he looked at her in shock, "Damn it, Mikasa, I'm not a complete asshole."

"Could have fooled me!" Eren spoke up from the table behind them and Jean just gave him a hateful sneer before returning his gaze to Mikasa.

"I'm serious though," he told her honestly, "Everyone else already saw it. Eren, come on, you think she'll like it, right?"

Eren rolled his eyes when Mikasa turned to look at him for his confirmation or denial.

"Yes, he's right this time," he admitted and Mikasa nodded, convinced.

"Fine, show me."

AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT

Jean was grinning like an idiot as the two of them walked along the path that led to the old supply shed and Mikasa was beginning to get a little bit nervous, everybody knew this was the spot for secretive romantic romps...it was actually nicknamed the "Love Shack".

"Jean Kirschstein, I swear to god..." she threatened as they paused at the door of the dilapidated building.

"Mikasa, can't you have a little faith in me?" he asked in annoyance, "You'd think after all these years you'd know me well enough to know I'm a pretty decent kind of guy."

Mikasa had to admit to herself, he was right. Jean may talk big and make raunchy jokes now and then but he was above reproach when it came to this sort of thing.

"Alright, I'm trusting you," she told him calmly, "I probably don't have to remind you that I can kill you with my pinky finger, right?"

"Yeah, not necessary," he said with a nervous chuckle, "Come on and be careful it doesn't escape."

"Make sure what doesn't es-...?" but as soon as Jean opened the door her question was answered in the form of a small, yellow, furry creature that ran clumsily into her leg and bounced off. "Jean...no...what is this?"

Jean looked at her with a look of incredulous disbelief.

"It's a puppy, Mikasa, geez," he stated with a frown, "Have you never seen one before?"

"Of course I've seen one before you idiot," Mikasa replied hotly, not in the mood for his snark, "I just want to know why you think it's a good idea to have it here!"

"I didn't bring it here," Jean defended himself, "It just showed up here the other day. Bertholdt found it."

"What was Bertholdt doing in here?"

Jean had no answer for that, in fact he looked down at the puppy with his brows furrowed in deep thought

"I...don't even know," he said slowly, "I'd rather not think about it."

"Me either," Mikasa agreed and Jean looked up with a small smile, the tone of her voice sounded almost amused like they were sharing a joke together.

"Who knows, maybe he's some sort of sex god with a giant..."

"Jean!"

Shit. Well...he had to open his stupid big mouth and ruin the moment, didn't he? He wanted to sink into the dirt and disappear...but then, glory of glories, he heard a small, almost inaudible laugh come from Mikasa and he looked at her in surprise.

Mikasa hadn't been able to hold it in, Jean's tendency to speak his mind no matter what was, generally, not a good thing...but every once in a while she liked that he did. Every once in a while he would do something like that, say something totally out of the blue, and it would make her smile or laugh to herself. She wished he was like this more often, less serious and grumpy and more silly and joking.

"So...a puppy?" she asked quietly, squatting down to scratch the furry creature behind the ears as it placed it's paws on her leg and desperately tried to lick her face.

Jean shifted from foot to foot and he blushed slightly.

"Yeah, I just...I mean, it's pretty cute so I figured maybe you'd want to see it," he said quietly.

"It is very cute," Mikasa looked up at him and smiled, and she felt a strange warmth in her chest at the surprised and highly pleased look that came over his face when he saw that smile. "Thank you for bringing me to see him."

"It's, uh, it's a _her_ ," Jean corrected her, "But, yeah, you're welcome."

"Can we take it outside?" Mikasa asked as the puppy ran to the door and whined, scratching pathetically on the wood, "I think she needs to go."

"Sure, c'mon," Jean shrugged and opened the door, letting the puppy run out onto the grass where she immediately popped a squat and peed happily before turning back around and bouncing around their ankles as they exited the building.

Together, Jean and Mikasa chased the puppy around the grassy area to make sure it wasn't seen or that it didn't run away somewhere.

"Hey, puppy! Puppy, c'mere!" Jean patted his thighs and bent over, letting out a few short whistles. The puppy looked over its shoulder and did a goofy twist to come charging back to him, jumping into his arms with adorable puppy clumsiness. Mikasa felt that weird little warm feeling again at the sight of Jean sprawled on the grass, laughing loudly as the puppy smothered his ace in wet kisses...it was pretty darn cute.

Looking around the ground, Mikasa found a stick and twirled it around for a moment before walking over and sitting on the grass next to them. The puppy immediately fixated on the stick and, tail waggling wildly, attempted to snatch it from her hand. Mikasa smiled and threw the stick a little ways away, the puppy scrambled after it and returned a moment later to drop it in her lap.

"Hey, she knows how to fetch," Jean commented in surprise, "Someone else must be coming here fairly often to play with her."

Mikasa threw the stick again and smiled as the puppy dutifully brought it back for her to throw yet again. This went on for some time and Mikasa was so into the game that she didn't realize Jean was staring at her until she happened to glance over at him. Her sudden eye contact made him jerk in surprise and he lifted his head from his hand where his chin had been resting as he watched her and he looked away quickly, blushing brightly and clearing his throat uncomfortably.

"Sorry," he mumbled, "I didn't mean to stare, Mikasa, I just haven't ever seen you look so...relaxed."

"I'm always relaxed," Mikasa tried to convince him, after all wasn't that the impression she tried to hard to put out there.

"Naw, you're not," Jean looked completely unconvinced, "You're constantly on edge. You sit perfectly straight, always watching everything around you, keeping your eyes on Eren to make sure he doesn't do something stupid. You don't relax for a second."

Mikasa turned her head to look at him closer, her brows furrowed. He could see through her confident air, it would seem...how was it that he could see what she tried her best to keep hidden? It was true she was constantly looking out for trouble, keeping her eyes on Eren and Armin and everyone else too, never letting her guard down and never allowing herself a moment to relax. How closely did he watch her every day for all these years?

"Sorry if that was a weird thing for me to say," she heard him apologizing and she came back to reality, the puppy was waiting for her to throw the stick again so she did.

"No...it..." she hesitated, not knowing exactly how she was feeling about the revelation that he'd been so closely studying her that he knew these things. She didn't feel angry...it actually made that warmth in her chest increase. "I just didn't realize you knew me so well."

Jean was blushing so furiously that he looked like he had a terrible sunburn, he didn't meet her eyes but he smiled slightly and she saw that.

"I didn't think it was such a secret," he admitted, "I've been watching you since the first time I saw you. Oh...that...sounded creepy."

"You mean that night you first argued with Eren? You said my hair was pretty." Mikasa thought back to that moment. _Oh...wait..._

"Yeah...I still do," Jean admitted slowly, sounding nervous about admitting all this so suddenly, "I mean, even when you cut it all off I still...it made me so mad though."

"What? That I cut my hair?" Mikasa looked at him in surprise.

"Not because you cut it but...it was that I'd literally _just_ told you how beautiful it was and then Eren makes some dumb comment about it and you cut it without even hesitating. It was like you hadn't even heard me."

"I did hear you, Jean," Mikasa assured him, "But Eren was right, it would have been difficult to deal with when we started ODM training."

"I know," Jean muttered and rested his chin on his arm that he had pulled his knees to his chest with.

They sat in silence for a long while and played fetch with the puppy, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Mikasa felt a rush of friendship with the boy at her side, but try as she might, she felt nothing further occur and she sighed...she had to put him out of his misery sooner or later.

"Jean," she spoke gently, not wanting to have to say this and hurt his feelings, "I...I'm glad you're my friend and I know we've been through a lot together. I know you like me but...I love Eren."

"He doesn't love you back. Not...not like that." Jean muttered calmly, as if he'd been expecting this.

"I know..."

Jean looked over at her in surprise.

"Then why do you keep trying?" he asked gently.

"Because I love him," Mikasa explained quietly, "I know he loves me in the way friends love eachother and even as a brother...but he's never given me the hope of feeling anything more for me. However, I can't change how I feel about him so I must protect him if I can. You know he needs me, he needs all of us."

"Yeah," Jean's voice was grim, "You know...I already knew all this, but I just always hoped you'd see that you deserve better. You deserve...someone who feels about you the way you feel about Eren."

"I don't need anyone to protect me," Mikasa stated firmly.

"That's not what I meant," Jean sighed.

And, suddenly, sitting there playing fetch with a puppy, Mikasa wished she c _ould_ return the feelings for the melancholy blond...she knew he was saying the truth, but how could she accept it when Eren's face swam in front of her eyes and Eren's voice filled her ears almost all the time? She had no room in that section of her heart for anyone else at the current time...but...maybe someday...

"Jean," she said gently as the puppy charged across the grass with the stick, eager and hopeful in a way that reminded her of Jean...how he always stuck by her side and the side of all his comrades, he was loyal and true and she knew he felt strongly for her.

"Don't worry about it, Mikasa," Jean said quietly as he watched the puppy with thoughtful golden eyes, "I understand, I really do. But...it's not going to stop me from having your back and being your friend when you need one."

"If something changes and I feel differently in the future," Mikasa told him softly, kindly, "I promise you'll be the first to know."

It wasn't much...but it was all she could offer him right now.

 **AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT**


	11. Potato

_**Prompt: Potato**_

 _ **Characters: Sasha and Connie (With other assorted appearances)**_

 _ **Rating: K**_

 _Potato Girl._

Oh, how Sasha Braus _hated_ that nickname with a burning passion! It hurt her that her personality and her abilities had been left in the background and she had been entirely reduced to those two words. _Potato girl._

"Connie! You burnt the fried potatoes!"

Ok...maybe they had a little bit of a point with the nickname. It wasn't _just_ potatoes though, it was just that there was no room for waste in the world they lived in so every bit of food was precious to her when she'd experienced firsthand what it's like to starve slowly for years, hard earned prey being taken from them and given to the refuges from Wall Maria...every bite was a blessing, and that had not changed even now that she was a well fed soldier.

Connie, to his credit, looked ashamed of his cooking blunder and he eyed the burnt potato shreds with a sad expression.

"I...I'm sorry, Sash," he said unhappily.

Sasha sighed and snatched the pan away from her incompetent cooking partner and poured the burnt food on a plate and took it to the table.

"Come on, we're eating them anyway," she announced seriously, "Can't just waste stuff."

"I know," Connie agreed, "Sorry, Sasha. I wasn't paying attention."

"What _were_ you paying attention to?" Sasha asked with her mouth full of the acrid tasting tubers.

Connie blinked a few times, his expression slightly bewildered, then he ducked his head and blushed.

"Nothin'," he mumbled, and he shoved a forkful of potatoes into his mouth to avoid having to speak again. They ate in relative silence while the others started to come into the room for dinner.

"Why are you two burning shit in here?" Levi mumbled in annoyance, his nose bunched up against the smell, "And why the hell are you _eating it_?"

"Because you can't just waste something because it's not perfect!" Sasha snapped, not blunting her aggression for her Captain. He just gave her an annoyed look before he dumped the pan they'd cooked with into the wash basin and started scrubbing the blackened residue off.

Later that evening, Sasha, Eren and Mikasa were assigned to clean the kitchen so they were working quietly, each focusing on their own inner thoughts. Sasha, for one, was considering her unfortunate nickname again.

"Eren?" she finally spoke up and Eren looked over from where he was sweeping the floor.

"Yeah?" he asked, looking surprised at being addressed in such a quiet and thoughtful way from Sasha.

"Do you...know who started calling me Potato Girl?" she asked, "I mean...I get why, since I ate that potato in front of Shardis but...who started it?"

Eren wracked his brain but he honestly couldn't remember where the name had originally generated.

"I'm sorry, Sasha, I don't remember," he admitted.

"Neither do I," Mikasa offered before Sasha could even ask her. Sasha's face fell slightly and she just nodded, going back to washing dishes.

Mikasa and Eren finished their chores faster than Sasha because her mind was not on her work, she absentmindedly scrubbed a bowl and scrunched her eyebrows in concentration as she tried to think of who would have started a name like that.

"It was probably Jean," she muttered, knowing how much he tended to speak exactly what he thought without filtering it.

"What did I do now?"

Sasha looked over to the doorway and found Jean standing in it with a confused look on his face.

"Did you start the nickname "Potato Girl?" she accused with a snarl.

Jean looked at her funny for a moment and then laughed, walking to the cupboard to get a cup down. He tossed it and caught it again and he was grinning.

"Naw, but I wish I had," he admitted, "It's a pretty genius nickname. I still think about you and Shardis butting heads over that stupid spud! I'm pretty sure the first time I heard anyone use it was Mina...but she said Connie had called you that while they were watching you run."

 _Connie. Of course!_

"That little..." she growled as she watched Jean leave the kitchen, heading out towards the pump to fill the cup he'd taken. Of course it had been Connie who would make up such a nickname! She would have to tell him how much it bothered her and make him regret it!

She leaned back over the sink and started angrily scrubbing a plate with her rag, water splashed over her arms and she glared at the droplets. She felt someone enter the kitchen and she assumed it was Jean returning from the pump but when she felt a hand settle on her shoulder and then run gently down to the small of her back from behind, she tensed up and spun around with her hands in fists, ready to punch whoever was getting fresh with her! Connie stood there before her with his patented goofy grin and she relaxed slightly at the familiar face.

"You want some help cleaning up?" he asked. She felt her anger at him melt...she would bring up the nickname some other time when he wasn't being nice.

"Sure," she said, "You can dry these."

She handed him a dry towel and a plate and Connie got to work immediately, piling the dry dishes on the counter to be put away later. Between the two of them, it wasn't long until the dishes were done and the counter wiped down. By that time, the sun had set and everyone was winding down and heading to their rooms for bed and the yawn that hit her suddenly made Sasha realize how tired she was as well so she turned to Connie and gave him an apologetic smile.

"I really wanted to sit up and talk to you about something but I'm just so tired I can't stay awake," she said honestly, "It's not really important so it can wait till later. I'm gonna head to bed."

Connie nodded in understanding, his own eyes looking a bit droopy with sleepiness too.

"Yeah, me too," he agreed.

Sasha smiled at her friend, at her best friend...her best friend who she was oddly attracted to...

"Good night, Connie," she said softly, "See you in the morning."

"Goodnight, Potato Girl," Connie replied with a wink.

Sasha froze and watched him walk down the hall to his room, she waited for the familiar annoyance at the name to wash over her...but it didn't come. Instead, she felt a warm sort of feeling in the center of her chest and a flutter in her belly.

Maybe Potato Girl wasn't such a bad nickname...at least not when Connie was the one saying it.

 **AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT**

 **God, I love these two...**


	12. Respect

_**Prompt: Respect**_

 _ **Characters: Auruo, Petra and Eren (slight AU where the Levi Squad didn't die)**_

 _ **Rating: K**_

"C'mon, you pathetic greenhorn, you should know the drill by now," Auruo rolled his eyes in annoyance at Eren's question regarding the upcoming recon mission, "Do I really need to show you this _again_?"

Eren's eyebrows scrunched and he frowned, his eyes dropped to the grass and his shoulders hunched as he took the scolding in silence.

"I...I'm sorry, Auruo, I just can't seem to get the hang of it," he said quietly, apologetically.

Auruo sighed heavily and shook his head slowly.

"I swear to god, kid," he muttered and nodded his head towards the makeshift training area Eld and Gunther had set up. Eren followed a few paces behind, his head hung in shame at having to ask Auruo to show him this maneuver for what was likely the twentieth time since he'd been assigned to the Special Operations Squad.

Auruo took his starting position near a group of dummy "Titans" and scowled over his shoulder at his eager, yet silent spectator.

"Now pay attention this time," he snapped, "If you can't figure it out then I'm done wasting my time with this shit!"

Eren nodded and Auruo let out a "tch" worthy of Levi himself before he started off at a run, launching himself up and onto the first dummy's back. He used the taller dummy's "back" as another launch point and flung himself skyward above the smaller dummy, backflipped at the right moment and hit the gas at the top of the arc as he released his right grappling hook from the previous dummy and used the left to guide his very rapid descent towards the large dummy's nape. He twisted at the perfect moment, turning right side up and swinging almost at the exact same time, cutting a deep gash in the padding. He released the other grappling hook and grabbed onto the Titan's hair, coming to a stop on its shoulder.

"At this point you can ride it down as it falls if you cut deep enough, or you can hook into a solid surface and swing down." And he did that since the dummy was not designed to fall, he landed gracefully and shook his shaggy ash-blonde hair out of his eyes as he sheathed his blades.

Auruo made it look easy, like it was nothing at all to perform the feat. Eren felt himself tense up as Auruo walked back over to him, looking bored and smug as he usually always did.

"Your turn, kid," he said, jerking his thumb back at the dummies, "Show me you're not completely incompetent."

Eren bit his bottom lip as he approached the spot where his teacher had started off from, he ran the maneuver over and over in his mind as he stood there and prepared to run at the first "Titan". _Right...lock on, launch off the first Titan's back and use a bit of gas to get enough height, let the momentum of the wires to pull you back into the arc, unhook one hook, gas again and twist on the way down so you're ready to strike when you reach the dummy. Don't follow through your descent and remain on the Titan's back. Got it._

And off he went! He threw himself into the air and shot out his grappling lines to the taller dummy and swung up, feeling good about doing it right this time! One way or another, he was going to get it down and show his comrade that he wasn't a failure! As he went up into the arc, he felt his heart leap in excitement, he was getting the arc right this time and he released his hook and hit the gas...but he knew as soon as he started to descend that he hadn't started to twist in time.

 _WHAM!_ Eren's body collided loudly and painfully into the padding of the dummy and he slid off the side, dangling by one line with his cloak falling over his head. He scrambled helplessly and attempted to push the material out of his face so he could figure out how to get down. But he froze when he heard the disappointed sigh of Auruo right in his ear and his stomach clenched nervously when his cloak was lifted off his face and he could see his squad mate shaking his head as he held the material in his hand.

"Kid...that was the worst I've ever seen you do," he said, sounding grim, "I don't know how it's possible but you get worse every time you do this instead of better. You should give it up, you just don't have the knack."

He pushed the release on Eren's line and had the kindness of heart to at least catch the kid in his arms and let him down gently instead of just letting him fall on his back in the grass, then he shook his head and turned to walk away. Eren watched him go and felt almost like he wanted to cry...he would never manage to impress Auruo Bossard.

Petra had seen the whole thing from the window of the castle that she was shaking the rugs out through, and she heard ever word that was said...and she did not approve.

Laying the rugs aside for later, Petra ran down the stairs to meet Auruo coming up. She was seething and when she saw the grin on his face when he realized who he was meeting on the stairway she felt the urge to punch it off his face. She resisted and, instead, grabbed him by the front of his shirt and shoved him into the stone of the wall. His utterly shocked expression made her feel a little better...

"Geez, Petra," he said with a wicked grin, "We can't do this right here on the stairs, Eren is gonna be coming in at any..."

"Shut up, you jerk," Petra snapped, not in the mood for his snark. He at least had the presence of mind to realize she was serious because his expression went from teasing to serious in a split second. "I heard everything you said to Eren out there on the practice field."

"How the hell did you hear me?" he cocked an eyebrow and looked doubtful.

"I have VERY good hearing and I had the window open," Petra informed him quickly, not wanting to get off subject. Auruo had a tendency to make her forget her original agendas all the time with his deflective attitude. "Auruo, the things you said to Eren were terrible!"

"Huh? But, Petra, did you even _see_ him out there?" Auruo defended himself quickly, "He was terrible!"

Petra gave him a furious shake and then released her hold on his shirt. He smoothed the scrunched material down and gave her a curious look as he waited for her reply, mentally preparing for her angry words...but her face no longer looked angry, she looked...oh god, she looked...disappointed. He _HATED_ disappointing her!

"Petra..."

"Auruo you make me so mad sometimes," Petra said quietly, "Why do you do this crap?"

"Huh?" _What was this?_

Petra's head hung and she sighed unhappily.

"I know you better than anyone else on this team, Auruo," she said softly, "I've known you a very long time and I know this isn't the real you."

"I don't..."

"The Auruo I used to know would never tear down his team mate like you just did," Petra continued, not letting him speak, "You need to stop trying to copy Levi because it's making you into an asshole...like worse than ever, Auruo! When Levi says blunt things to us it comes off as encouraging us to improve and letting us know we are capable of better...but you just sound very cruel and hateful."

Auruo, to his credit, remained silent and his brow furrowed thoughtfully and Petra knew she'd struck a chord...now she had to hit it home while he was in this vulnerable state of mind, out from the shadow of his Levi facade.

"I...probably shouldn't tell you this but...Eren spoke to me recently about you," Petra hated to betray Eren's statements made in confidence, but she knew Auruo needed to hear this. "He told me that he feels at home in our squad with everyone except you. He said he feels like you really dislike him and that nothing he does will ever be good enough."

Auruo looked like she'd slapped him in the face, he even visually recoiled from her words.

"But I don't..."

"Shhh! I'm not done!" Petra chided and he started chewing his tongue in an effort to keep himself from speaking, "Remember after the run in with the Female Titan when we were refilling our tanks in the trees? You got up on the branch above Eren and I and stood there all cocky and you told him "Make it back alive and I _might_ be persuaded to respect you"...well he remembers that and he asked me what he did wrong to make you dislike him so much. He is doing everything he can to earn your respect, Auruo."

They both sighed and Auruo looked like he wanted to sink into the wall behind him.

"You know that Eren knew all about us before he was even assigned to our squad?" Petra threw out her final card, "When Levi mentioned the Special Operations Squad he said Eren already knew all our names and our kill counts, solo AND assists. We...we were like his heroes! We still are in a way. He looks up to us all and I know for a fact that he looks up to you the most."

"Me? Why me?" Auruo managed to get in before she could stop him.

"Because you two are very, very much alike!" Petra replied like it was the simplest thing in the world, "You are both determined and stubborn and impetuous and in love with Levi."

"I'm not in lo-...!"

"You both REALLY look up to Levi, ok?" Petra corrected her mistake and continued, "You both take great pride in taking down Titans, it's your entire goal in life! The only difference is he fights for revenge and you fight to protect. Why do you think Eren asks you to show him your moves, Auruo? He wants to learn from you because he thinks you're the best. You've killed almost 50 Titans on your own, you're in the Top Five of the entire Survey Corps for solo kills!"

"Only after Levi, Mike, Hanji and Erwin," Auruo puffed up slightly.

"And only because most of them have been around longer and Levi is just...no one can compare to his kill count so it doesn't matter," Petra found herself praising him before she could stop herself, because she had to admit he was impressive and she couldn't deny that she was as much of a fan of his as Eren. "But the point is...Eren knows this and he wants to learn from you because he wants to fight like you do. Your tricks have kept you alive and he sees that. He's trying so hard to gain your approval and you keep saying stuff like that to him and it's really making him feel like it's pointless to try and impress you."

Auruo rubbed his eyes with his palms and groaned.

"That's...I..."

"Auruo...how often do you even use his name instead of some derisive rookie term?" Petra drove the final nail into the proverbial coffin. "Now go and end that poor boy's misery."

"I can't just march up and tell him I respect him, Petra," Auruo grumbled, "He'll know you told me all this shit. He's not stupid. Look...you're right, about all of it, and I'll fix this, I promise."

"You better," Petra warned, "And you need to drop this stupid act of yours while you're at it."

Auruo pushed away from the wall and gave her a wink before he took off down the stairs.

"One thing at a time, nag!" he called over his shoulder and made a beeline for the front door because he knew Petra would be coming after him once the words sunk in.

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Auruo hid out in the stables for a long time after Petra's rape chat in the stairway in an effort to work the problem out in his mind. He would never admit it, but the horses calmed him down and he could think freely surrounded by the soft nickering and the musty sweet smell of horse and hay.

After a while, he knew he couldn't hide out any longed and he exited the stables and realized he'd been in there longer than he thought...the sun was setting and the sky was streaked with pinks and reds. He knew Levi would chew him out for avoiding chores all day and he figured he would avoid that moment for a while longer so he turned on his heel and walked around the side of the castle instead of going inside. He was walking, but not paying attention to where he was going since he was looking up at the bright colored sky, so he didn't notice where he'd walked to until he saw the huge Titan dummies out of the corner of his eye...and a flash of green against the pink of the sky.

No...

Auruo quickly stepped behind the bushes he was next to so he could watch unseen. Eren was facing the dummies, his sides heaving as he sucked in air, his hand on his knees as he leaned over. He looked tired and discouraged and Auruo thought he might have heard a wet sniffling sound as the kid wiped at his sweat covered face. But then the shaking, clearly exhausted young man's head came up and he bared his teeth in a fierce snarl and let out a yell as he charged forward and threw himself at the fake Titans.

Auruo watched in amazement as the kid put his whole heart into the maneuver...and ended up twisting too late so his cut was barely a nick in the padding. Eren landed and looked up at the dummy with wide eyes and then he sat down hard on the grass and pulled his knees to his chest, wrapped his arms around his knees and buried his face behind them.

 _He's been...out here practicing all day...and he almost had it that time...if he would just twist at the right time he would have it down pat..._

Auruo took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the bushes and walked towards the training field, approaching Eren carefully so as not to scare him. But Eren either didn't hear him coming or he didn't care because he didn't raise his head even when Auruo stood right in front of him.

"Hey, kid," Auruo kicked Eren's foot gently, leaning to one side with his arms crossed over his chest. Eren raised his eyes and the look of discouragement and shame almost made Auruo choke on his next words. "Saw you fail just now."

"I...I know..." Eren admitted sadly, "I'm trying, Auruo...I promise I am. I just...just..."

"Eren," the use of his proper name from Auruo's mouth made the boy suck in a sharp breath and his eyes widened in surprise, "I saw you fail but...you almost had it that time."

Eren looked incredulous, like he couldn't believe what was happening. Auruo sighed and sat down on the grass beside his comrade.

"Look, kid, I was really hard on you earlier," he admitted, "And...I know I've been kind of an asshole to you but that's because I don't believe in coddling, hard knocks are better to learn from and honesty is better than treating you like a baby needing to be spoon fed."

Eren let out a sniffing laugh and his eyes sparked with some emotion Auruo couldn't place.

"Thing is, kid...you keep surprising me. I figured you'd give up, go inside and have some tea and forget about this maneuver, but you've been out here all day, haven't you?"

"Yes," Eren admitted in a voice barely above a whisper, "I...I don't like to give up."

"I noticed," Auruo thought carefully about his next words before deciding it was the right moment, "And...kid, I really think you have amazing potential. You've done something not a lot of people can do...you've got my respect."

Eren's head turned slowly, his eyes wide and full of hope as he stared at Auruo in disbelief.

"I'm serious, Eren," Auruo added the icing on top of his admission, "You're not some ignorant greenhorn anymore, you're a Scout...and a damn good one."

They sat in silence for a long time, until the sun was completely set and the crickets started their night song then Auruo stood up and offered his hand to help Eren up as well, which the boy accepted.

"Tomorrow, I'll walk you through the move step by step and we'll figure out where you're messing up," Auruo said as they walked back to the castle, "Something tells me you'll get it next time."

"If not, I'll keep trying until I do," Eren said confidently, a grin spreading across his face, "Pretty soon I'm gonna catch up to your kill count...and then I'm gonna pass it and leave you in the dust!"

Auruo gave the kid a sneer...but he had a feeling it was the truth so he just rolled his eyes and let it go this time.

From the window above them, Petra looked down with a smile on her face.

"I knew you had it in you, Bossard."

 **AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT**


	13. Hairdye

_**Prompt: Hair Dye**_

 _ **Characters: The Levi Squad**_

 _ **Rating: K+**_

The Scouts came riding back through the gate of Karanese in their usual downtrodden state, the carts contained their usual piles of dead and injured. Petra rode along in silence as the gate closed behind them and glanced over at the crowd lining the street, there had been a lot of children present during the last few returns and this time was no exception, dozens of wide, young eyes stared in wonder as the Commander and the veterans passed. Petra still thought it was a little weird to be considered a veteran level soldier but she wasn't complaining...

"You look kind of like you're about to throw up," Auruo's voice sounded in her ear as he trotted up to match pace beside her.

"Well, you know, just got back from a long few days of living on the edge and brushing elbows with death," Petra replied nonchalantly, "I'm just relieved to be back safe again. I always wonder when it's going to be my last time out of that gate."

Auruo gazed at her for a long while and then he sighed, leaning over as far as he could to reach and puckering his lips at her. Petra rolled her eyes and giggled.

"Come on, Petra, don't leave me hangin'," he spoke weirdly through his still puckered lips and Petra couldn't resist, she leaned over and kissed him front of the entire regiment and observers and didn't care at all what they may have thought...she was just glad to be alive and she was glad that Auruo was still at her side.

"Ew did you see that?" the high-pitched voice of a child made Petra look over Auruo's shoulder into the crowd to see three young girls pointing at them, "That old guy just kissed that pretty girl!"

Petra winced visibly at the words and she hoped against all hope that Auruo hadn't heard, but she knew he had from the way he immediately looked down at his horse's mane and slowed down to fall slightly behind her in line. Damn it...

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Auruo sighed at his reflection in the mirror on his wall back at the Special Operations Squad castle, poking the lines at the sides of his mouth with a scowl. He had to admit, those kids were right...he looked way older than his actual age, but it didn't make it any easier to accept just because it was true.

But he'd come up with an idea on the ride through town and had made a quick stop at a local store before they left to head back home and he was holding his purchase in his hand now, eyeing it nervously. He ran his hand through his ashy blond hair, and pulled a chunk of it upward between his fingers and looked at it with distaste...the color of it only added to his "old man" appearance and he was going to change that because it was the one thing he could control.

He carefully made his way out of his room and down the hallway to the bathroom, glancing furtively around to make sure no one saw what he had clutched against his chest as he went.

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The majority of the squad were gathered in the kitchen for lunch, but Auruo was still nowhere to be found and Petra was starting to worry about him. He'd been distant the last couple of days since Karanese. On the ride home he'd stayed in the back of the group and barely spoke to anyone at all, even Eld couldn't get him to say much.

"Where the hell is that idiot?" Levi grumbled, "If he doesn't show up very soon I am going to feed his dinner to the horses."

"Horses don't eat fish," Eren commented and it earned him a death glare from the Captain.

"I'll go look for him," Petra sighed and stood up from the table and walked to the door and into the hall.

"I wonder wh-..." Gunther started to muse out loud but he was cut off suddenly by the sound of Petra's shriek from the hall. The four men were on their feet in a flash and Levi was halfway to the door when Petra came running back through it, pulling Auruo along behind her.

"Oh my god..." Eld was staring in disbelief.

Eren sat down again in his seat and clapped both hands over his mouth as he fought back mad laughter.

Levi's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline as he looked up at his taller squad mate.

Gunther didn't even move a muscle, he was still in his defensive stance from when he'd jumped up to go after Petra.

Petra herself was standing there staring at Auruo with wide eyes...and then she walked backwards until the back of her knees hit the bench and she sat down heavily and then turned and smacked her forehead down on the table with a groan.

"What?" Auruo asked, looking incredulous.

"What the hell did you do to your hair, you dimwit?" Levi asked.

" _WHY_ the hell?" Eld said in a strangely high-pitched voice.

Auruo's expression turned defensive and unfriendly and he turned up his nose slightly.

"I don't have to justify myself to you," he said haughtily.

"Can I ask you a question?" Gunther finally spoke, his deep, calm voice a nice change from the squealing sounds that everyone else seemed to be making, "What color was that _supposed_ to be?"

"Are you blind or something, Gunther?" Auruo gave his friend a rueful look, "It's black, obviously."

"Someone tell him!" Eren screamed around his hands and then clapped them back over his mouth.

Petra groaned loudly and sat up straight, looking over at Auruo with a knowing and sad expression.

"Auruo..." she said, rubbing her palms down her face as she turned and stood back up, "It's...not black..."

"Huh?" Auruo pulled on a chunk and tried to get a look at it.

"IT'S PURPLE!" Eren shrieked and then proceeded to guffaw loudly and obnoxiously, Eld joined in a little less loudly.

Auruo, for his part, looked disbelieving and horrified.

"Did you not look in the mirror at all after you dyed it?" Levi asked with slight amusement in his tone, "And why did you dye it in the first place?"

"I know you like to try and be Levi but this is ridiculous," Gunther grumbled, approaching his comrade to examine the color closer.

Petra was feeling merciful and she grabbed Auruo's hand and pulled him back out of the kitchen, away from the curious eyes and Eren's wicked cackling, she pulled him along behind her all the way to the bathroom and shoved him towards the mirror above the sink.

"Just look," she said grimly.

And look he did, and he immediately let out a strangled gasping noise at the sight. Purple was an understatement, it was a dark, shimmering shade of royal violet.

"Oh my god!" Auruo moaned and buried his face in his hands, rubbing his eyes hard with his palms, "I swear it was black when I finished!"

"Where's the bottle?" Petra sighed and held her hand out expectantly. A weight pressed into it and she looked down and read the bottle carefully. "It SAYS black but I think the label is mistaken..."

"You THINK?!" Auruo grabbed a handful of his now brightly colored locks and groaned loudly, "What the hell do I do?!"

Petra couldn't help it...he looked so ridiculous! She let out a loud laugh and allowed herself a few extra giggles before she approached him and pulled him into a hug.

"Auruo, did you do this because of what those kids said the other day?" she asked quietly, knowing he was already miserable enough and any more teasing would probably be detrimental to his sanity.

He didn't answer out loud but his unhappy sigh confirmed it for her.

"They're wrong, you know?" she assured him gently, pulling out of the hug to cup his face in her hands, "Let them think what they want but I think my opinion should matter to you more than a few snotty kids, and I think you're perfect the way you are...well, the way you _were_ before you pulled this stunt!"

"It was supposed to be black..." Auruo argued weakly.

"Even if it w _as_ black, you would still look foolish," Petra said honestly, "I like your natural hair color, and I miss your shaggy, wild hair before you cut it like Levi's."

"I don't," Auruo muttered, "It was crazy and the color didn't help the "old man" look at all."

"You don't look old, Auruo," Petra said firmly, putting her hands on her hips, "You might look a little stressed but who _doesn't_ these days? Even the new graduates look like that."

Auruo looked down at the floor and scuff the stone with his heel.

"Well, I guess you'll have to get used to the purple for a while because I'm not shaving it and I don't think they make my hair color in a dye."

"I have a better idea," Petra said thoughtfully, "I'll be right back."

She disappeared and when she came back several minutes later she held up a bottle in her hands triumphantly.

"Good thing Eld dyes his hair," she said secretively, "Don't tell him I know, say I had this for myself and just never used it."

Auruo sighed unhappily at the idea of he and Eld matching their hair like this but...anything was better than the current fuck up. He handed the bottle back to Petra and pulled off his shirt, leaning under the faucet in the tub to wet his hair and start the dying process over again. Petra giggled and sat on the edge of the tub beside him and started working shampoo into his hair with gentle, calming strokes.

"Good thing you have me around or you'd have to go around looking like a clown for a month or so," she giggled as the purple began to fade slightly from the harsh shampoo. She set it aside once the water ran clear and poured the blond dye into her hand and started applying it, nodding as the purple began to be overpowered by the bleaching effect.

They sat and talked for a while as the new color set in and she could tell he was beginning to find the humor in the situation.

"Guess that was a pretty stupid thing to do," he said with a half smile.

"Yeah, a bit," Petra agreed good-naturedly, "But it w _as_ good for a laugh."

"Oh, well, glad I could entertain you," Auruo jabbed her in the shoulder with his elbow.

"You always entertain me," Petra smiled, "You're my favorite person to be around. Now, that should be ready to go, get back over the tub."

He obeyed and she rinsed the thick dye out and nodded with approval at the obvious blond color that was already visible under the running water. When he sat up, he sported a thick, wet mop of golden hair.

"That looks so much better," she said happily, "Go look."

Auruo did and he smiled at his reflection, it was a little over the top in terms of being very yellow in color but it was a thousand times better than the violet mess it had been...at least it was in the same family as his natural color.

"Thanks, Petra, you saved my life!"

"I only saved your pride," she corrected him sweetly, "But you're welcome. I hope you learned your lesson though...no more of this trying to change yourself bullshit."

Auruo knew she was serious by the use of the vulgar term which Petra tended to avoid and he nodded in agreement.

"I promise," he assured her, "I guess you're stuck with the "old man" version of me for life."

Petra smiled and reached up to trace his jaw with her thumb.

"Good," she smiled, pressed a gentle kiss to his lips, and then pulled him along with her back towards the kitchen.

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 **I admit this is not my best writing, it was very quick and very unplanned out.**

 **Well, it's cute at least :)**


	14. Hypnotism

_**Prompt: Mikasa and Eren attend a hypnotist show. Mikasa is hypnotized. (College AU)**_

 _ **Characters: Mikasa and Eren (appearances by various others)**_

 _ **Rating: PG/PG-13ish**_

"I can't believe you dragged me to this thing, Eren," Mikasa mumbled as they took their seats on the front row in front of the large stage. There was a banner hanging across the top of the stage claiming the person they were about to see was "The Most Baffling Magician in the World" or some such fiddle faddle. Mikasa did NOT want to be here.

"Don't be a drag, Mikasa!" Eren chided her, taking his seat happily. He looked a little bit like a child about receive a pile of candy!

"I agree with Mikasa," Jean grumbled, taking his seat next to her. If he was being honest with himself, he was only here for this reason. "This is beyond lame, Jaeger."

Armin sat next to Jean without a word, his sharp blue eyes squinted up at the stage. He had been saying all night that he was going to find out the tricks to this even though Eren continued to demand that it was real magic, not tricks.

Mikasa sighed and rolled her eyes, settling in to what was surely going to be a very long night...

"Good evening, ladies and gentleman!" the magician, Magic Mike or some sort of bullshit title, announced loudly and with a flourish of his obnoxiously purple cape, "Tonight, prepare to be amazed at the wonders I will perform! Tricks that will boggle your mind and titillate your senses!"

"And make me want to puke from the obvious fakeness?" Mikasa muttered under her breath and Eren jabbed her in the ribs, it didn't faze her.

"I sense a skeptic in the crowd tonight," the words made Mikasa look up at the stage, suddenly interested, "I believe the vibes are coming from...here!"

After a moment of dramatic searching and arm waving, his finger had pointed directly at Mikasa, who just crossed her arms and looked unimpressed.

"What tipped you off?" she asked with an unamused chuckle, "Could it be my completely bored face and my annoyed demeanor?"

"Oh ho! You don't believe in magic, young lady?" the magician asked, looking at the crowd as he waggled his eyebrows. The crowd booed and Mikasa just glared at the magician's stupidly shiny purple boots.

"No, I don't," she answered honestly, "It's all fake and everyone knows that."

The magician shrugged and went about his business, performing his tricks and awing the crowd. Mikasa had to admit, it was sort of entertaining, even if she knew it was all fake...it took some amount of skill to perform the tricks well enough to make it look believable.

The finale was some sort of flurry of flames and hoops and ribbons that was completely lost on Mikasa and she rolled her eyes in disappointment. However, on her left, Eren was clapping like a little kid at the circus and she had to admit that this fake magician had the ability to make him happy...and that was something special indeed.

As they stood up to leave after the show ended, the magician approached the edge of the stage and leaned down to speak to them.

"Did you enjoy the show, Miss Skeptic?" he asked cheerfully.

"It was alright," Miksas shrugged, "I'm still not a believer."

What happened next, Mikasa never could remember...she heard the magician snap his fingers and she blacked out for what seemed like a split second, when she came to again her three companions were staring at her with wide eyes. She heard the magician whisper the words "until midnight" in her ear.

"Mikasa!" Armin squeaked.

"What the hell did you say to her?" Jean growled at the magician, his lips pulled back in a threatening snarl, "Get away from her!"

"What did he say to you, Mikasa?" Eren asked loudly.

Mikasa blinked slowly and looked at her companions like they were crazy.

"Come on, you guys, let's just go!" Armin tugged at Jean and Mikasa's arms, eyeing the magician with distrust.

They all agreed and stumbled out of the row of seats into the aisle. Mikasa glanced over her shoulders to get another look at the magician; he gave her an odd smile and a salute before he turned around and began to gather up his props.

Out on the busy city streets, Mikasa felt a lot better about everything...fresh air was obviously just what she needed.

"What the hell was that?" Jean was grumbling again, scrunching his eyebrows together as he stared at Mikasa, "You just froze and stared off in the distance the whole time he was talking to you."

Mikasa shrugged...she honestly didn't even remember anything he'd said to her with the exception of "until midnight" and she really didn't want to think about it anymore. This whole situation had her a bit freaked out on the inside.

"Can we just get back to the dorm and forget about all this magic crap?" she asked wit obvious annoyance.

"Sure, Mikasa," Eren nodded and stepped to the curb to hail a taxi to take them back to campus. A taxi pulled up and they piled in, Eren in the passenger seat and the others in the back. Mikasa was squished in the middle and Jean was looking a bit too happy about her close proximity for her liking.

"Don't get any ideas, Kirschstein," she growled at him quietly. He gave her a long look before he sighed and turned to look out the window as the cab pulled out into the street, he rested his chin on his palm and stared dejectedly out at the passing buildings, absentmindedly running his thumb over his bottom lip...and suddenly Mikasa's brain fizzled and she couldn't stop herself! She reached out and yanked his head around to face her and pulled him towards her, claiming his mouth in a very deep and very aggressive kiss.

"Oh my god!" Armin squealed from her other side and leaned as far away from them both as possible, his blue eyes wide with shock. Eren twisted around in his seat to see what Armin was making so much noise about and his jaw dropped in shock. The cabbie looked in the rearview mirror and his eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"What the hell is going on?!" Eren screamed, attempting to make his way into the backseat to pull them apart, "Jean, get off her!"

Jean's eyes opened and flicked over to Eren, but they were full of triumph and he flipped Eren off before settling right back into the kiss, all his dreams were coming true! But, just as suddenly as it started, it was over and Mikasa pulled away with wide eyes and slapped him hard in the face, making an obvious hand shaped red mark across his left cheek.

"What the hell, Mikasa?" Jean whined, rubbing his now tender face and squeezing his eyes shut tight against the pain. He leaned away from the angry girl beside him as far as the taxi door would allow.

"I told you not to get any ideas, you pig!" Mikasa growled, her face red with a mix of embarrassment and fury.

"YOU KISSED ME!" Jean snapped right back, his temper flaring up from the unfair accusation.

"As if I would do that!" Mikasa insisted.

Jean's anger faded away quickly, his expression changing to hurt in a split second and he turned away to lean against the door to avoid looking at her.

"He's telling the truth, Mikasa..." Armin softly added his two cents from her other side and Mikasa whipped her head around to stare at him in disbelief.

"What!?" she shrieked.

"You did!" Armin insisted, "I saw you do it!"

The rest of the ride back to the dorm was awkward to say the least.

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There was a full blown party going on when they reached the dorm...this happened a lot because their dorm supervisors were almost never there and cared even less. Jean was delighted and he slid into the dorm with his Jazz Hands flailing as he loudly announced his presence, he was met with cheers and calls of "Hey, Jean!" and the like.

The other three entered in a normal style but they were still greeted eagerly by the crowd and they merged into the party effortlessly, Armin sitting on the couches with Annie, Marco, Ymir and Krista to have logical calm discussions. Eren was standing in the center of the room with Reiner, Bertholdt, Gunther and Eld, loudly discussing their successes on the college baseball team. Jean was at the pool table, making trick shots and keeping a group of girls awed by his skills. Mikasa just stood around talking to anyone and everyone in her usual quiet manner, a drink in her hand.

"Hey, Mikasa," Sasha approached her from the dorm kitchen, she held a plate of cookie in her hand and she set it on the table where Mikasa was leaning, "How was the magic show?"

"It was like any other magic show," Mikasa responded with an eye roll, "Fake."

"I know, right?" Sasha laughed, wiping some cookie crumbs off her lips, "It's just a load of..."

But she was cut off from finishing her statement when Mikasa stood on her tip toes and grabbed her hair, crashing their lips together. Sasha squealed indignantly and did her best to pull away but...well...one does not simply pull out of Mikasa's grasp!

"Hey, what the hell!?" Connie came hurdling over the sofa and got in between them, pushing against Mikasa with his hands and pushing Sasha away with his back. It worked and Mikasa pulled away and looked utterly horrified.

"Oh my god, Sasha, what are you doing?" she squealed.

"I didn't!" Sasha whined loudly, her face flushed with embarrassment, "I promise, Connie! I didn't! She did!"

Mikasa had no idea what was going on and she was beginning to feel like she was going crazy! This had to be some sort of prank that everyone was in on but her...yeah, that must be it. She'd just have to play along and ruin their sick fun!

"Oh, don't pretend you didn't like it," she laughed nervously. Everyone in the near vicinity looked at her in shock and Connie looked like he wanted to punch something. Mikasa beat a hasty retreat to the couches to sit with Armin and the others and escape Connie's wrath and Sasha's judgment. She sat down next to Krista and turned to say something to her...but Krista was wiping her lips off from the drink she just took and Mikasa's brain went blank again.

When she came to she was being pushed back by a very angry Ymir.

"Oh my!" Bertholdt, who had joined Armin on his couch covered his mouth with his fingers, looking shocked...and Mikasa was across the coffee table in the blink of an eye and straddled his lap before she kissed him hard. Bertholdt flailed his long arms in an effort not to touch her at all and his eyes got huge as he attempted to pull away.

"MIKASA!" Armin screeched, clearly uncomfortable. He leaned so far away that he fell off the couch onto the floor and bit his cheek in the process. He whined a little and wiped a bit of blood off his lips...and before he knew what was happening, Mikasa was on him.

"Annie! It's not what it looks like!" Bertholdt was hollering. Annie just shrugged.

"Why should I care?" she asked dully, watching the display on the floor with a bored expression.

"Get her off me!" Armin screamed and Mikasa broke away from him, leaving his poor little lips red and swollen from her ferocious kisses. Mikasa's eyes got huge and she jumped up with a very angry noise.

"Ok, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?" she yelled to anyone who would listen...which, everyone was, and they were watching too.

"Touch Krista again and I will cut you!" Ymir announced, snapping her fingers in the typical bitchy "Z" pattern.

And a new thought entered Mikasa's mind...she looked down and realized...she was NAKED!

Everyone watched in shock and amusement as Mikasa Ackerman covered her chest and crotch sudden;y with her arms, bending over and backing up to the wall.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE MY CLOTHES!? SOMEONE GIVE ME A JACKET!"

Marco, ever a gentleman even in a messed up situation like this, immediately threw a jacket over her shoulders and she gave him a grateful look...then she blinked and looked at him like he was crazy.

"Um...thanks, Marco, but why did you just give me your jacket?" she asked, and she handed the item back to her friend who was staring at her with a little bit of fear and a whole lot of confusion.

After everything calmed down and people began to assume Mikasa was drunk, the night was uneventful for a while...until Reiner bit his fingernail and happened to brush his thumb on his lips. Mikasa had seen it and she flew across the room.

"Oh hell yes," Reiner grinned as he saw her coming and he put his arms out in eager welcome, much to Jean's dismay from where he stood next to the large blonde. Mikasa and Reiner's kiss lasted a lot longer than the others until Levi stepped up and pulled them apart.

"This is ridiculous," he said with a lot of annoyance, running his hand down his face...which was a mistake because his palm brushed over his lips and Mikasa turned from Reiner and managed a peck on Levi's mouth before he yanked her off and held her at arm's length. "Eren...take Mikasa to her room and put her to bed. I am getting tired of her shit."

Eren obeyed and Mikasa followed in shame...would this ever make any sense?!

It did. The next morning when she woke up she remembered everything! Even the magician's words from the night before.

"Maybe some of my magic is tricks, but my hypnotism is real. Missy, you will be hypnotized until midnight tonight. Any time someone touches their lips, you will kiss them. If anyone happens to snap their fingers, you'll believe you are naked. This should teach you not to be so skeptical."

And he was right.

 **AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT**

 **This is totally out of my norm of writing but it was admittedly a lot of fun and I let it get quite silly :)**

 **Hope it was goodish.**


	15. Anticipation

**Petruo Week Day 1: Anticipation**

 **XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Auruo Bossard wouldn't say he had a nervous disposition, but there were definitely a few things that made even a seasoned veteran like him feel that sense of panic and that twisted gut sensation: spiders, especially nasty Titans...and Petra Ral.

To be fair though, that last one came with a whole different type of nervousness, a delicious tension that made him stutter and caused his eyes to seek anything but her face because it was too damn beautiful to look at for any long amount of time. She made his heart thrum in a weird, off beat rhythm when she spoke his name, even though his name was usually said in an annoyed or frustrated tone, there were times when she spoke it with gentleness and love and those times made him more nervous than anything else!

Today, however, today he was the most nervous he'd ever been in her presence...and for good reason. He'd been planning this out for weeks, actually, if he was honest with himself, he'd been planning this for _years_.

He woke up that morning and immediately felt the weight of what the day could bring and he'd almost felt sick to his stomach as he imagined the exact moment that evening would bring...and the future, whichever way it might go. Every glimpse of her he had seen that day had made the anticipation even more intense, his heart skipping beats this many times in one day could not be healthy and the amount of times he'd forgotten to breathe would surely cause some sort of mental damage. At one point, when they were beating dust out of the rugs in the courtyard, she'd looked at him with those beautiful amber eyes of hers and she'd said his name in that sweet, gentle way she did every once in a while and he'd just about fallen over from the combination of her eyes and voice.

He was a wreck, but it was kind of intoxicating and every moment they had together that day only made the coming sunset more meaningful to him, more encouraging and reassuring.

He wondered vaguely if she knew what he had planned. Had she figured it out? Is that why she was being so perfectly beautiful today? Or had she always been this way and he'd just focused on the nagging? Well, wait, of course she had...that's why he wanted to do this so much!

By the time evening rolled around, the setting sun casting streaks of bright, beautiful colors across the sky in various shades of red, yellow, pinks and oranges, Auruo was feeling like he would explode if he waited any longer.

"H..hey," he stuttered lamely at Petra as they followed the rest of the Squad down the hall towards the common room where the evening plans were chess and conversation, "I don't know about you but sitting there watching Levi kick everyone's ass at chess sounds like a shitty way to spend the night, so...you wanna...go for a walk or somethin'?"

Petra looked at him with a relieved look and nodded quickly, she grabbed his hand and yanked him towards the door and out into the cool night air.

"Thank God," she laughed, "I would rather poke my eyes out with a toothpick than watch one more game of chess!"

Despite the horrifying mental image that brought up, Auruo smiled and they began a slow, leisurely stroll around the stables and towards the river across the hay field behind the castle.

Along the way, they remained mostly silent, each wrapped up in their own thoughts, and Auruo was suddenly feeling unsure and terrified.

 _What if I'm crazy for trying this? What if she laughs? What if she doesn't laugh...and looks at me with that pitying look she has? That would be even worse… but not doing this and never knowing would be the worst thing of all...so here goes nothing._

They'd reached the river and the babbling sound of water brought Auruo back to reality, his hand wrapped tightly around the tiny object in his pocket to reassure himself it was still there and he hadn't lost it on the way. The cold circle of metal was a reassuring tiny weight on his fingertips and he took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh.

"You alright, Auruo?" Petra asked, giving him a curious look.

"Yep, yeah, I'm great! Just fine, perfectly fine!" he wanted to smack himself for being so ridiculous, but he just gave her a grin instead and it seemed to do the trick because she gave him a nose-crinkling smile full of teasing.

"Well, you've been acting kind of weird all day," she commented, "You've been staring at me more than usual."

"I don't stare at you, nag," he defended himself automatically, immediately regretting the use of the term considering what he was about to do, "I mean...I don't...mean to."

"Seriously, Auruo, what's up with you today?" Petra's teasing expression turned to one of concern, her head tilting slightly to the side as she studied his face, "You've been acting like a nervous cadet their first time on the training course since breakfast."

Auruo chose to ignore her for a moment while he gathered his nerve, his eyes flicked over to look at the bark of a nearby tree and he bit the side of his tongue gently as he tried to remember the details of his plan...but, for the life of him, he couldn't even remember the words he had internally spoken dozens of times that day. Fuck...this wasn't going to be the dream sequence moment he'd imagined...but he had to do it now before he lost his cool and ran back to the castle like a frightened foal.

"Petra!" he clamped his hand over his mouth quickly since the word came out far louder and abruptly than he thought. But it made Petra giggle and that was wonderful, and it encouraged him slightly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I, uh, there's...I wanted to...ok, this is really a lot harder than I thought! Shit!"

"Auruo," Petra's voice was gentle, soothing, "Just take a breath and calm down a bit. It's just me, you know you can tell me anything, we've known eachother long enough for that."

She was right, of course, but it didn't make him any less nervous and shaky and totally ridiculous feeling. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment to compose himself before he stepped forward and took her hands gently in his, raising his eyes from the grass to lock onto her beautiful, amber gaze.

"We, uh, we have known eachother for a long time," he began quietly, carefully, judging her reaction to his sudden close proximity, he saw no sign of discomfort on her part so he continued, "It's been a long time and we've been through a ton of shit together...sorry, I'll try not to say that again, we've been through a lot together. You've always had my back since day one and I'm always keeping an eye on you too. We've fought side by side and we've fought face to face and you keep me in line and you call me out on my shit...sorry, and you...you make me a better man than I could ever be on my own."

Petra's eyes had begun to change, her expression had become serious and searching, but he couldn't stop now...it was all or nothing.

"What I'm tryin' to say is...I can't imagine not having you by my side and I don't even want to imagine it either. I know I'm not the Captain and I'll never be at his level no matter how hard I try, and I know I have nothing of value to offer you and I can't promise you a long life together or even another day since tomorrow is never a guarantee...but...I can give you everything I do have even if it's not much. I can give you my heart and the promise to be with you till the day I die."

He didn't hesitate now, he couldn't, he was in this far too deep. He didn't even look her in the eye as he dropped to one knee and pulled the tiny, plain silver metal circle from his pocket. He pressed it into her palm, such a contrast against her warm skin and took another steadying breath before he said those words he'd been keeping on the edge of his tongue for years, choking them back every time before that they'd threatened to leap from his mouth…

"Petra...I love you more than I can even say...will you marry me?"

And, in a moment, all that lead up to this moment felt like nothing...all that mattered now were these last few moments of nerve shattering silence, a long moment of anticipation like none he'd ever known before, and then the perfect, long-awaited climax.

"Yes."


	16. Secret

**Prompt: Secret**

 **Characters: Levi, Petra and Auruo**

 **This was written for Petruo Week 2015**

Levi knew his two squad members were up to something and he was going to find out what that something was. The two of them had been sneaking off together in the early mornings and then again after supper each night and they would be gone for about ten minutes before returning, smiles on their faces.

Obviously he had an idea of what might be going on, but he had left it alone for quite some time until today. Earlier, Petra had snuck into the supply room and taken one of the nice, plush towels and Auruo had a small bag and a tin cup in his hands as they snuck out through the kitchen and made their way to the stables. Levi waited a moment before following so they wouldn't see him.

When the Captain entered the stables he was silent as a shadow, scanning the area for his two comrades, and he spotted the open door of the last stall in the row. Levi sighed and made his way down the row, ignoring the bickering of the horses and carefully peeked around the doorway of the final stall.

Auruo and Petra were both on their knees, side by side, slightly bent over something in the pile of old hat on the floor. Petra was laying the towel down gently and Auruo opened the bag he held to pull out…a piece of fish?

Levi cleared his throat loud enough to make the couple jump and turn their heads around quickly, but there was no look of embarrassment at being caught, no nervous blush…nothing in this scenario was what he had expected. Petra put her finger to her lips and made a "shh" noise, glaring at him with annoyance.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Levi asked, not pleased with Petra's reception of his presence.

"Be quiet," Auruo insisted in a whisper, "You'll wake them up."

And they finally scooted apart enough for Levi to see past them. There, on the towel in a pile of hay, lay a small white and yellow cat, who was chewing away happily at the piece of fish Auruo had given her, and four newly born little yellow kittens.

"Kittens?" Levi asked, somewhat relieved, "This is what you've been sneaking out together for?"

"Of course, Captain," Petra replied and Levi was too focused on the kittens to notice the wink she gave Auruo, "What else would we possibly be sneaking out for?"


	17. Regret

**Prompt: Regret**

 **Characters: Auruo**

 **Written for Petruo Week 2015**

Auruo had always heard that your life flashes before your eyes at the moment just before your death…but he had always assumed it would be just tiny flashes of memory, blips of special moments. He hadn't expected this.

It wasn't tiny bits of his life that flooded his overstimulated and shattered mind, it was solid memories that made no sense in their order. Listening to his mother and father whispering sadly in the other room on the day he announced he was joining the Cadets, slipping pieces of food from his plate to his younger brothers so they wouldn't be as hungry as he was, cleaning the castle chandeliers as he listened to Petra and Eren get to know eachother, learning to ride his horse for the first time…none of it made any sense.

But he would have preferred that…because after those random things came the many moments he wished he could go back and change, apologize for, fix. His endless regrets.

He regretted not writing more letters to his family because, he realized now, that was all that would remain of him in a few short seconds…he should have told them more often how much he loved them, he should have told his mother thank you for all the sacrifices she made for him all his life and his father for his hard work providing for their large family. He should have taught his little brothers things like how to skip rocks on the water, how to catch fireflies, how to clean the fish they sometimes caught in the local river because he had always cleaned them quickly and without even noticing the looks of eagerness to learn on their faces…until now that he looked back.

He should have been himself instead of imitating Levi, because then maybe he could have talked to the Captain without feeling like he wasn't up to snuff. Maybe he could have gotten less annoyed eye rolls from his hero and more nods of approval. Maybe he could have made Levi proud to have him on his Squad.

He should have told Eld how good of a leader he was and how easy it was to follow him. Less sarcasm and shoving his solo kill count in the blond man's face when he was doing something better than Auruo could might have gone a long way in improving their friendship.

He should have told Gunther not to be so quiet and shy, but to speak his mind because he would always be willing to listen. He should have told him that he had listened carefully to every word out of the large man's mouth because when he spoke it was always something worth hearing.

He should have told Eren he DID respect him all along. He talked big, acted like nothing affected him, like he'd seen it all and nothing a greenhorn could do would impress him, a seasoned veteran…but it was a damn lie. Eren Jaeger was a brave kid, full of fire that reminded him a lot of himself when he had joined the Scouts. He had a large amount of respect for the poor kid and all he'd already been through and dealt with in the span of his short life…but it was too late to tell him now. Hell, he should be beside Eren right now, fleeing instead of fighting, protecting him like his orders had been.

But the regret that overshadowed even all of this…was the regret of never talking Petra the way he felt about her, the way he had ALWAYS felt about her since the day he had met her all those years ago.  
He never told her how beautiful her copper hair looked in the sunlight as they soared side by side on the ODM training course.  
He never told her that her eyes were the color of honey and held him captive in their depths anytime she looked at him. He never told her the way her voice made his heart skip a beat anytime she spoke to him, even when they were bickering at each other.  
He never told her about how every little touch of hers burned like a brand on his skin, even just an accidental brush of her fingers on his hand as she passed something to him or when she would bump into him when walking beside eachother.  
He never told her how much he wanted those touches to linger forever or how much he wanted to pull her close when she was hurting and upset, to take her in his arms and chase the pain away with gentle kisses and soft words whispered in her ear.  
And he never told her how much he loved her, loved her to the point of being willing to abandon his very life for her sake.  
Even now…he was doing just that and she didn't know. She never would because she was already gone. He was too late.

And as he felt a crushing blow against his back, he regretted one more thing. That he had lied to himself, telling himself he had plenty of time to do all these things before he died.


	18. Home

**Prompt: Home**

 **Characters: Petra and Auruo**

 **Written for Petruo Week 2015**

When most people think of their home, their family comes to mind. Their parents, grandparents, siblings and pets. It's a specific place, a building or a town.

Petra always enjoyed paying visits to her father on furlough and her town was always full of old family friends and kind neighbors…but it was still far from feeling like home to her.

Since she'd been chosen for the Levi Squad, home was more like wherever they set up their tents or back at HQ. Because these people were more like family to her than anyone ever had felt besides her father. These men were her brothers and she'd fought side by side with them for years, faced hell together.

But, more specifically, tonight as he held her tightly after her close call in the field, when he kissed her gently on the temple and smoothed her hair until she started to drift off towards sleep and as he whispered in her ear that she was safe now and he was there, Petra knew that her true home was in Auruo Bossard's arms.


	19. Touch

**Prompt: Touch**

 **Charactes: Petra and Auruo**

 **Written for Petruo Week 2015**

Her touch is peace. After a close call with death, a breath away from the other side, he comes to her in the shadows of the room that is more theirs than it hers anymore. He is shaking again, almost as badly as he had been the moment he landed safely on the ground…just barely, and neither one of them speak a word because there is no need. She opens the covers, beckoning for him to come and take his place beside her, and he does without a bit of hesitation. All sign of the proud, confident and deadly soldier he is when in the presence of the others is gone and he buries his face into her neck without shame, savoring the warmth of her skin and the scent of her hair and the feel of her hands gently caressing his skin. Her touch is the only thing that makes him feel like maybe everything will be alright I the end.

Her touch is strength. She may be small but she is mighty and he knows this better than almost anyone else. How many times has she amazed him with the ferocity of her strikes at the back of a Titan's neck? And now he was feeling her power again as her hands clamped down firmly on his wrists, pulling with all her might to drag him away from the danger of the battlefield. She didn't even look like the weight of him was enough to make her even break a sweat as she dragged him along, her amber eyes filled with rage and fierce determination. She was so strong sometimes that he felt small and helpless in her presence.

Her touch is fire. As they move together in the dim light of the candle on the windowsill, the silence of the room broken by scattered moans and soft declarations of love that they whisper in the other's ears. He is always overcome by her in these moments, all soft and smooth beneath him, her eyes heavily lidded as she looked at him with an expression so full of love that it made his heart ache for her even more than it did before, if that was even possible. She opens her mouth as if to speak and he waits for the words to come…but they don't, and they don't need to. Moments like this, they both understand, a touch is worth a thousand words.


	20. Stars

**Prompt: Stars**

 **Characters: Auruo and Petra**

 **Written for Petruo Week 2015**

Petra must have been paying attention during a few of Hanji's long winded discussions because, as she and Auruo lay out on the roof of the castle, she was pointing out specific stars and tracing constellations with her finger and describing the image they made.

Auruo thought it was utter nonsense, he could find none of those shapes when he looked where she pointed. He simply picked out triangles and squares of stars instead because that made more sense when he looked at them.

Stargazing was kind of dull to him, he preferred to keep his mind busy instead of laying there with so much time to think, because his thoughts always inevitably turned to Titans and death and his family waiting back home for him to visit…silence and darkness and lots of time to ponder were not good things in Auruo's opinion.

But Petra loved these nights when they would lay side by side, so close they could feel eachother's warmth, listening to the crickets chirp and frogs in the river behind the castle croak out their moonlight serenades together in a way that was more beautiful than any music that humans could make. She would lay there with her eyes wide open in wonder, claiming that the stars looked close enough to touch, her arm resting against his, their fingers intertwined.

And that was why Auruo always joined her on the roof, because seeing Petra happy and relaxed and feeling her next to him, alive and well, was his own personal heaven…silence and troubled thoughts be damned, it was all worth it to see that peaceful smile on her lovely face.

The light of the stars above paled in comparison to the beauty of that smile.


	21. WorthRelationships

**Written for Connie Week on Tumblr for the prompts "Relationships" and "Worth"**

 **AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT**

"Connie, slow down!"

He heard Jean's voice behind him but he had no intention of doing any such thing and he gathered even more momentum in his next swing and ran along the branch he came up to land on, launching himself off against and hooking on to a nearby tree to go into another swing.

 _Faster. I have to go faster. I have to be the fastest!_

He'd scored 10/10 in speed back in their training days and only Marco had been able to keep up with him closely…it was all he had that separated him from the others when it came to skills and so he focused on it and worked hard at being faster than anyone else. Faster. Stronger. More Focused. He had to get BETTER if he wanted to pull his weight around here and keep his Squad safe.

Hell, he hadn't even killed his first Titan yet! He had to prove himself, he had to show them he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, and them as well.

He stared straight ahead, never wavering in his movements, using the sides of trees and the tops of branches to push himself off. Faster. Faster. FASTER!

 _ **SNAP!**_

He had been so focused on gaining more speed that he'd neglected to watch where his left anchor had latched on and the branch had been too narrow to support his weight. He only just managed to latch on to a more stable anchor point on his right with enough time to slow his descent slightly. But it wasn't enough to prevent the painful collision with the ground.

Someone was at his side in mere seconds and he shook his head to clear his vision, coming face to face with Sasha. She leaned over him and held up two fingers in a peace sign.

"How many fingers am I holding up, Connie?" she asked, wiggling the digits at him.

"Two," Connie moaned, the blow to his ego was worse than any pain he was feeling at the time. Thankfully the grass here was overgrown and created a nice cushion for his less than perfect landing.

"Wrong! You have a massive head injury!" Sasha squeaked.

"What?!" Connie gaped at her in horror but she was unable to keep up her charade and she began to laugh.

"Sorry," she giggled, offering him a hand to help him up, "Had to do it. Hey, really though, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Connie moved his limbs one by one to test his statement and found them all intact and more or less alright. He was probably going to be sporting some incredible bruises but it was a small price to pay for his stupidity. "I think I injured my pride more than anything."

Sasha gave him a funny look and was just opening her mouth to speak when Jean came to a landing beside them.

"Connie, you dumb bastard, I told you to slow down!" he snapped immediately, earning him two identical sets of raised eyebrows from his two comrades, "What the hell are you trying to prove anyway?"

Connie winced at how accurately Jean had hit the nail on the head, but he just shrugged and ignored his friend, looking down at his boots to avoid eye contact with the taller male.

"Well next time maybe you'll listen," Jean sniffed in annoyance at Connie's passive dismissal, "Come on you two, let's get back to HQ. This training session is over."

He left the two friends sitting in the grass together and they watched him go with matching scowls. Sasha then turned on Connie, her eyes blazing.

"You really need to be more careful," she admonished sternly, and she began poking him in random places.

"Sasha, stop!" Connie squealed as her finger poked between his ribs in her thorough injury check, "That tickles! I'm fine, I told you!"

Sasha didn't seem convinced and she sat back on her butt and crossed her legs Indian-style, then she leaned forward a bit, her arms resting on her knees.

"I don't think you really are fine, Connie," she said gently, "Something's on your mind, I can tell. I can always tell."

He knew she could…just like he could always tell when something was upsetting her, so he knew there was no point in trying to deflect her. He just sighed and started picking nervously at the grass next to him.

"It's just that…I have to get better, Sash," he said slowly, trying to put the confusing shitstorm inside his head into words, "I have to get stronger and I have to be the fastest…because I'm not going to let anyone die because of me. Next time we have a mission, I'm gonna be ready no matter what Levi says we're up against. Not like last time."

"None of us wanted to do what we did, Connie," Sasha replied softly, and he knew she was imagining her arrow hitting that girl's chest as she saved his life. If he'd been more careful, he would have killed that girl and Sasha wouldn't have had to save his ass! "None of us signed up to kill humans."

They sat in silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts. Connie's thoughts had strayed from their last mission to rescue Eren to the here and now, sitting among the trees in the soft grass with Sasha Braus…his best friend. He watched her face as it twitched with minute changes according to what she was thinking about and he found himself drawn to every little thing about her.

Not just the way she looked, although her reddish brown hair and chocolate eyes always seemed to capture him if he looked for too long, but it was so much more…Sasha was so much more. She was his confidant, his partner in crime, his best friend in the whole entire world and she had been since day one in the Cadets. She'd captivated him from the second she bit into that damned potato in the lineup and he'd wondered to himself who that brazen girl with the ponytail was. Since that day, they'd been stuck fast to eachother, never too far apart and, if they were, it was never for long. He didn't feel…quite right when she wasn't by his side, to be honest.

And times like now she captivated him because it was so easy to be honest with her, to tell her the things he couldn't tell anyone else. She would understand and she would not judge.

"To be honest, Sash," he finally spoke again, reassured by her presence, spurred into an honest confession, "I just…I'm trying to prove that I'm good enough to be part of this team. That I'm…not worthless."

Sasha just looked at him for a long time, her brown eyes searching his until he finally had to look away because her gaze was too intense. She sighed and stood up, placing her hands on her hips.

"Connie Springer, stand up right now," she ordered sternly, looking down at him with a disgusted expression. His eyes widened a bit, but he obeyed and stood up quickly. He still had to look up slightly to meet her eyes since she had several inches on him in height.

"I'm up, geez," he muttered, brushing some grass pieces off his thigh. Sasha still had him fixed in that expression, "What!?"

"Don't you EVER say that again!"

"H…huh?" he blinked rapidly, confused by her sharp tone. Her finger shot out and rested on the tip of his nose and he crossed his eyes slightly to look down at it.

"I don't EVER want to hear you call yourself worthless, Connie. NEVER again!" Sasha shouted, "It's not about killing Titans, it's not about killing Titans, it's about being here for eachother and protecting your comrades and having eachother's backs. THAT is what being a soldier is about! You've proven enough, Connie…you…you have…you're enough. You're…."

He waited, eyes wide, for her to say just what he was exactly. Her eyes had dropped to the chest strap of his gear to avoid his gaze. She sighed and continued, her voice much softer now.

"You're good enough, Connie. What would we do without you? What…what would I do without you? You're…my best friend and you've proven your worth a thousand times over. Especially to me."

And, suddenly, the fears and insecurities of the morning seemed like trivial things in the light of Sasha's words. If he was enough for her then that was enough for him.

 **AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT**

 **So sappy…I love them. Spread the Springles love!**


	22. Sacrifice

**Written for Levi Squad Week on Tumblr for the prompt "Sacrifice"**

 **AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT AOT**

Everyone notices when a soldier gives their life in the literal sense of the word. There are funeral pyres and tears shed and memories shared and songs sung; they're labelled heroes.

But every soldier makes a sacrifice of their own when they choose this life, sometimes multiple sacrifices.

Levi doesn't feel like he's missing out on anything, the military suits him and fighting for his life is all he's ever known. When he lost his mother, Farlan and Isabel, he lost every connection he had to a life outside of the Scouting Legion…now, he accepted the fact that he would never have anything else but this since he made his choice.

But, as he watched the members of his Squad down in the courtyard, he wondered what made an average citizen choose this way of life. Sighing, Levi leaned against the window frame and watched as Eren and Eld studied a map together. Auruo was standing beside a nearby tree with his arms crossed as Petra stood with her hands on her hips, obviously scolding him even though Levi couldn't hear the exact words. Gunther was brushing down his horse not too far away, shaking his head at his two bickering squad mates.

These soldiers, _his_ soldiers, had all made sacrifices to be here in that courtyard right now…

Eren he could understand because the kid's situation was a lot like his own, he lost his family and his home in one fell swoop…the difference between them was the immense anger that Eren harbored in his heart. What had Eren sacrificed when he had donned the Wings of Freedom? Plenty. Eren Jaeger had set aside his childhood and even put his best friend and the girl who was like his sister on the backburner in order to take on the Titans. Levi wondered if the boy even realized his sacrifice at this point, but he felt sure that he would eventually…time had a way of making you see things differently.

Gunther had sacrificed the happiness of his aging parents. Levi knew for a fact that Gunther's father had been so unhappy about his decision that they were still slightly estranged from the arguments they had on every furlough and his mother had to bear the burden of the tension between her husband and son. Gunther had sacrificed a life outside of the military as a blacksmith like his father and his father's father had been…a well-paying career with plenty of business and the promise of having enough money to settle down and have no worries about where his next meal would come from or when his life would end in the crushing hands of a Titan.

Eld had given up the life of a husband and father, leaving a woman he loved behind to fulfill his call as a soldier. Levi had seen the way Eld's face would light up when a letter from her would arrive, the way his entire being focused on the words and drank them in like he was a parched man in the desert. He should be with her now, Levi thought to himself, instead of giving up his chance at a normal life and a family for this bleak existence.

Auruo had given up a life as a big brother to five younger brothers who looked up to him like he was their hero…and he was. Auruo may act like a tough guy who cared very little about anything, but Levi knew the opposite was true and that the irascible and pompous soldier actually hid a heart of gold deep down inside…maybe not so deep if you could look past his front. Levi knew it the moment he first saw all those young boys come charging down the street to greet their brother and Auruo's usually bored and unenthusiastic face lit up as he scooped the two smallest ones onto each shoulder, his laugh had been so honest and real and Levi wished he would just be the real Auruo more often…but maybe his identity outside of his kill count had been yet another sacrifice?

Petra had sacrificed the role of her father's only child. She had told him once about her father, how he'd begged and pleaded with her not to join the military, how he'd stopped speaking to her for a long amount of time when she did, and how he finally came to his senses and apologized and started to be proud of her achievements in the Scouts. Petra loved her father dearly and that love was equally returned…and it seemed to Levi that a soldier's life was not what Petra deserved.

He watched them all interacting below for a while longer as the setting sun cast red and orange streaks across the stones of the courtyard. Yes, when a soldier dies their sacrifice is noticed…but when a life that could have been is snuffed out to make room for a soldier, no one mourns for the sacrifice made.

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 ***sad sniffle* My babies…**


End file.
